Mangaung mayor Gertrude Mothupi and council speaker Mahlomola Ralebese have been expelled from the African National Congress (ANC) in the Free State.
The chairperson of the ANC provincial disciplinary committee, Khotso Sesele, said on Monday the committee considered the disciplinary charges brought against Ralebese on Friday and those against Mothupi on Sunday.
”The [committee] has considered the facts and evidence as presented to it on August 8 and 10 2008 in the two respective cases.”
Sesele said the evidence presented in support of the charges was of such a ”cogent and sufficient nature” that the guilt of Ralebese and Mothupi was proven on a balance of probabilities.
Sesele said due to the seriousness of the violations the committee imposed a penalty of expulsion from the ANC with immediate effect.
The suspension of the two local government councillors is ”pending” as they now have an automatic right of appeal to the ANC’s national disciplinary committee of appeal.
Mothupi and Ralebese had been asked to step down last month, but refused to do so, according to ANC Free State leader Ace Magashule.
”There was no common purpose among the party [ANC councillors] under the mayor,” Magashule said at the end of July when asked for reasons for the action against Mothupi.
Recently, Mothupi spearheaded the suspension of Mangaung municipal manager Thabo Manyoni, who was elected as deputy chairperson of the ANC in the Free State in Parys in July .
Manyoni was not in Parys during the elections but spend the day in the Bloemfontein High Court where he was contesting his suspension. — Sapa