A suspended municipal manager accused of mismanaging R1.5bn has been ordered to hand over his laptop, iPad and cellphone to investigators.

Themba Goba, who was suspended by Rand West City Local Municipality in May over findings by the auditor-general and an advocate appointed by the Gauteng co-operative governance MEC, was also hit with a hefty costs bill.

Johannesburg labour court judge Connie Prinsloo said Goba forced the municipality to go to court when he didn't have a leg to stand on.

“Ultimately, [he] is the author of his own misfortune [because] he failed to put up any acceptable reason in law for refusing to return the laptop,” she said, ordering him to pay half the council's legal costs.

Investigators want to examine Goba's devices to prepare for a disciplinary hearing that must begin by August 20, and his letter of suspension instructed him to hand them over.

When he refused, the council went to court, and on Tuesday Prinsloo said he had 24 hours to give them to MNS Attorneys, the company investigating him on behalf of the council.

"[Goba] does not need essential tools of the trade at a time when he is not performing official duties,” said Prinsloo.

“The [council] on the other hand needs access to the tools of trade for purposes of investigating the allegations against [Goba], prior to proffering charges against him. Any evidence that may assist the [council] in the conduct of the investigation must be secured.”

In April, co-operative governance MEC Lebogang Maile said a report he commissioned from advocate William Mokhare agreed with the auditor-general's finding a year earlier that during Goba's tenure as municipal manager, which began in June 2017, R1.5bn had been mismanaged.

This was as a result of “irregular appointment of service providers, late payment or nonpayment of service providers thus attracting interest running into millions of rand, fraudulent appointment of service providers and fraudulent payment of service providers”.

A month ago, the Randfontein magistrate's court issued an arrest warrant for Goba when he failed to appear in a criminal case brought by AfriForum over sewage pollution.

The case was postponed to July 29, and AfriForum said it was ready to go to trial.

In May, two Rand West City staff were suspended for three months on suspicion of stealing a TV set from the office of mayor Brenda Mahuma.

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