Stevens Mokgalapa has been removed as Tshwane Mayor through a successful motion of no confidence during a special council sitting on Thursday night.
With the votes in and counted, 111 councillors voted in favour of the motion. DA councillors did not cast a vote in protest. Earlier in the evening DA was dealt another blow after the Tshwane speaker Katlego Mathebe was removed from council also through a motion of no confidence.
The special council meeting meant to deal with the motion against Mathebe got off to a chaotic start after the speaker opened the session and then recused herself.
Mathebe's recusal, because the motion involved her, was met with anger from both the ANC and EFF. Councillors protested against the recusal because they were not happy with Zweli Khumalo taking over as speaker.
At least two scuffles between different parties also broke out as councillors disagreed about who should replace Mathebe as the speaker. The ANC Tshwane Chairperson Kgosi Maepa argued that Mathebe should have stayed on as speaker until the motion of no confidence was brought before council. He also accused Khumalo of being drunk.
A member of the Gauteng Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs then stepped in to facilitate a process to appoint a temporary speaker to hear the motion of no confidence.
EFF Tshwane councillor Obakeng Ramabodi was elected by the ANC and the EFF, while the DA did not give a candidate as they were protesting the illegality of the process.
The motion against Mathebe then went to a vote where 110 councillors voted for the motion, while no member of council voted against it.
https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/das-stevens-mokgalapa-ousted-as-tshwane-mayor-20191205
