- The DA wants the High Court to reinstate City Manager Johann Mettler until a review is completed.
- The party claims the Speaker unlawfully removed 13 votes, changing the outcome of key council decisions.
- The application also asks the court to overturn the disciplinary finding that the allegations against Chief Financial Officer Gareth Mnisi amounted to less serious misconduct.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has told the High Court in Pretoria that Johann Mettler’s suspension as City of Tshwane city manager should be set aside because it resulted from an unlawful council vote that also benefited chief financial officer Gareth Mnisi.
The DA has approached the High Court to review and set aside resolutions adopted during a special City of Tshwane council meeting held on 9 July 2026.
The application names the Speaker of the Council, the Municipal Council, the City of Tshwane, the Executive Mayor, Mettler and Mnisi as respondents.
Through the application, the DA asks the court to suspend the disputed resolutions until a review is completed and to ultimately declare them unlawful. According to the founding affidavit, the legality of the resolutions depends on how the votes were counted during the meeting.
Speaker accused of changing the outcome
The DA says the Speaker unlawfully removed 13 votes cast by councillors before announcing the outcomes of amendments relating to disciplinary action against Mettler and Mnisi.
The party argues that the Speaker had no authority to alter votes that had already been cast and could only use a casting vote if councillors were tied. The application says that restoring the disputed votes would change the outcome of the meeting and invalidate the resolutions that followed.
DA says Mettler should never have been suspended
The DA argues that if the disputed votes are properly counted, the resolution suspending Mettler on a precautionary basis cannot stand.
The DA also contends that the legal requirements for a precautionary suspension were not met before councillors voted. The application says the council was not given enough evidence to show that Mettler’s continued presence posed a risk to municipal administration, municipal assets, witnesses or ongoing investigations.
The DA says those legal requirements had to be met before the council could lawfully suspend the city manager, and argues they were not met in this case.
Mnisi finding also under attack
The application also challenges the council’s decision that the allegations against Mnisi amounted to less serious misconduct. The DA argues that councillors should have adopted an amendment finding that the allegations against Mnisi amounted to serious misconduct.
The party says this distinction is important, as it determines the disciplinary process to follow and could ultimately affect any sanction. The party says the Speaker’s handling of the vote directly influenced that outcome.
Meeting procedures questioned
The DA also questions how the special council meeting was convened and run. It alleges that councillors were required to attend the meeting without first receiving the agenda or supporting reports, and that the documents were only given to them after the meeting had already started.
The application also claims that several councillors who withdrew previously approved leave before the meeting resumed were still prevented from taking part, even though they were present.
The DA says these procedural problems denied councillors a fair opportunity to consider matters involving the municipality’s two most senior administrators, further undermining the legality of the resolutions adopted.
Relief sought
While the review is underway, the DA is asking the High Court to suspend the disputed council resolutions, reinstate Mettler as city manager, and prevent the municipality from enforcing his suspension or taking further disciplinary steps based on those resolutions.
The DA also wants the court to declare that the Speaker acted unlawfully by changing the outcome of the council vote, to review and set aside the resolutions adopted on 9 July 2026, or to send the matters back to the Tshwane Municipal Council for a fresh decision in line with the municipality’s Rules and Orders By-law.
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