Durban — Opposition parties in eThekwini have welcomed the final removal of Ward 101 councillor Muzimuni Ngiba as the ward 101 municipality councillor after earning close to R1 million from the City while languishing in jail for more than a year.
The councillor served the Mayville/ Cato Crest community for a few months last year after he was elected in a by-election following the death of the ANC ward candidate Siyabonga Mkhize, a few days before election day in November 2021. He was arrested and charged with Mkhize’s murder and has since been in jail.
The removal was announced during the full council meeting on Thursday after the concurrence from the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs department which had to approve the removal.
Many political parties described the decision as a victory for the ward 101 residents.
In a statement issued by the DA, caucus leader in the City Thabani Mthethwa said his party's persistence to bring an end to “this madness” and for the imprisoned Ngiba to be fired has paid off.
“We have for over a year been calling for the removal of Ngiba who has been in the Westville prison for over a year, depriving residents of Ward 101 the opportunity to have an elected councillor representing them as required.
“During this period, the ANC protected Ngiba, used council funds to pay him a monthly salary and turned its back on desperate residents of ward 101. We have made sure that justice prevails for the people of Ward 101 and the ratepayers whose funds have been misused to pay Ngiba while sitting in jail,” said Mthethwa.
He said the decision gives the residents of Ward 101 the opportunity to vote for an untainted new councillor. He said he has no doubt that the voters will also use this opportunity to punish the ANC for the “great injustice and disrespect” shown to them.
Weighing in on the issue was also African Democratic Change leader and councillor Visvin Reddy who also welcomed the decision, saying it was a great victory for the ratepayers who were paying for a councillor to sit in jail.
He said the removal did not just come but was forced by councillors of other political parties, adding that the ANC has proven once again that it will turn a blind eye to its corrupt councillors even if found guilty in the courts.
IFP’s Mdu Nkosi said although his party was happy with the decision, the party was concerned that it took time to get to the finality of the matter. He said this was also a victory for the opposition who worked together to fight the removal of the councillor. Nkosi urged the residents to use the opportunity to carefully vote for a clean person to avoid a repeat of what happened.
Ngiba and other accused are currently on trial in the Durban High Court for the murder of Mkhize. He was believed to have masterminded the killing by organising a hit on him. He was arrested after hitmen allegedly linked him to the murder and all were denied bail.
His arrest came as a shock to many since he was the chief mourner for the killed candidate and had declined the nomination to contest for re-election. His prolonged incarceration also sparked protests from the community who complained about lack of services with no one to talk to.
The ANC regional spokesperson Mlondi Mkhize said while the party also welcomed the removal, it was not true that the party deserted the residents, saying it deployed a PR councillor (Proportional Representation) to serve the residents until there was a by-election.
He said it would be unfair for parties to blame the ANC for the delay since it was known that replacing an elected councillor was not an easy exercise unless he or she dies, voluntarily resigns or is incapacitated.
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