Africa-Press – South-Africa. Tshwane Speaker Murunwa Makwarela said he was chased like a dog, beaten and suffered head injuries when ANC councillors assaulted him during a council sitting on Tuesday.
Makwarela detailed the scenes he was subjected to after he opened a criminal case against ANC councillors at the Brooklyn police station on Thursday.
Videos seen by News24 show a group of people attacking Makwarela as he was seated at the front of the council chambers.
The confrontation on Tuesday allegedly started when ANC councillors refused to allow the council to adopt reports compiled by the municipal government.
One of the crucial reports that had to be adopted was to allow the City to secure loan access of R1 billion to cushion its liquidity problems.
Makwarela told News24 that, from the moment the matter was placed before councillors, ANC members raised objections and refused that the meeting go ahead.
Fearing that the sitting may never deal with the important business of the day, Makwarela decided to adjourn the meeting and for it to be continued online in a hybrid sitting.
After he made the decision, Makwarela said he was attacked by ANC councillors.
“I was injured and chased like a dog to my office. My jacket was pulled. They were trying to hold me hostage, but I escaped. They chased me and managed to chase me out of the building.
“My vehicle was the one that protected me. They then followed me to my office and banged on my doors. It was a group of 10 to 15 people,” Makwarela told News24.
“They told me that they would shoot me.”
He opened a criminal case, which included assault and intimidation.
The video footage of the incident will be used as evidence.
Makwarela said the ANC had no understanding of the Speaker’s role, which was why they resorted to attacking him.
“The role of the Speaker is not partisan. It’s to officiate the meeting and maintain law and order. So, there is nothing that can make anyone assault the Speaker. The Speaker does not produce the reports, but the executive does,” he said.
Makwarela said the ANC was determined to collapse the council, which was why they attempted to collapse the meeting and the adoption of the loan access report.
“That loan would help solve the short-term liquidity issues. All the cities are undergoing an economic crunch. Absa had agreed to loan the City R1 billion on a short-term basis, and that report was to adopt the terms of that loan.
“The intention was to collapse the council, so it did not approve that loan and eventually place it under administration. This would effectively put the City in the hands of the provincial government – the ANC,” said Makwarela.
The council sitting resumed at 20:30 on Tuesday because Makwarela said the council chambers were unsafe.
He said ANC councillors did not attend the meeting when the sitting resumed online.
Makwarela said ANC councillors were unhappy about the hybrid sitting because “everything moves fast online, and you cannot beat someone online, and that is why they raised objections to the sitting resuming online”.
The ANC lost its majority in Tshwane following the 2016 municipal elections.
The party was given an even less majority in the 2021 elections.
Tshwane is governed by a multiparty government, consisting of the DA, FF-Plus, Cope and ACDP.
The ANC in Tshwane denied its councillors attacked Makwarela.
The party’s regional secretary, George Matjila, said Makwarela was biased in how he officiated the meeting.
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