Joburg speaker Colleen Makhubele in hot water for removal of Tshwane COPE councillor

City of Johannesburg speaker and COPE member Colleen Makhubele is in hot water after her involvement in the contested removal of Tshwane COPE councillor Justice Thabang Sefanyetso.

Sefanyetso was sworn into council after the resignation of fraud-accused former mayor Murunwa Makwarela. He was later hastily replaced by Ofentse Moalusi, also a lone seat COPE member, who lost the mayoral election to the DA's Cilliers Brink.

Makhubele, in a letter SowetanLIVE's sister publication TimesLIVE has seen, instructed the withdrawal of Sefanyetso as a councillor in the metro shortly after he was sworn in and participated in one of the council meetings which sought to elect a mayor, but subsequently collapsed. 

COPE national spokesperson Dennis Bloem slammed Makhubele, saying that she had no right to intervene in party processes as she is a mere deployee.

“That letter was not from COPE. That letter was from an individual who is just a speaker of the City of Johannesburg,” said Bloem.

Sefanyetso has taken legal action against Makhubele for his alleged “illegal removal”.

In the papers TimesLIVE has seen, Sefanyetso wants his termination revoked and party membership restored. He also wants to be reinstated to positions of responsibility held in the party before the termination of his membership — in particular, the position of proportional representative councillor in Tshwane council.

“Termination of my membership was malicious, arbitrary, dangerously dictatorial, reprehensible, flouted the party constitution and sets a very bad precedent,” said Sefanyetso in his founding affidavit.

He added that this resulted in continued suffering as he is without a political home, a job and a future in the party of his choice.

Sefanyetso's standing as a councillor was contested after a faction of the party said he was of “questionable character”, saying he has two identity documents and a criminal record — suggesting that he be should be withdrawn from council.

Bloem defended Sefanyetso, saying that the national structures of the party had endorsed him and that he had passed the vetting process. He poured cold water on the allegations, saying the two IDs were a result of an Electoral Commission of South Africa mistake which was later rectified. He also dismissed the criminal record accusation, saying Sefanyetso was fined for speeding in 2001 and had been cleared.

Makhubele is also facing a motion of no confidence by the DA and ActionSA, which say she absconded her duties citing illness, only to attend to internal COPE squabbles at a Tshwane council meeting the same day.

The speaker has rubbished the motion, calling it a witch hunt. “When it comes to my motion, frivolous as it is, nothing holds water,” Makhubele said.

On Tuesday, Makhubele was presiding over the extraordinary council meeting to elect a new Johannesburg mayor after Thapelo Amad's exit.

Makhubele's name has allegedly been thrown into the hat as one of the potential candidates

TimesLIVE