NATIONAL NEWS - DA leader Mmusi Maimane confirmed that the DA will be challenging the validity of former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Athol Trollip’s removal in court, and slamming the process that led to it as a “sham.”
At a press briefing on Tuesday morning, a visibly emotional Maimane said, “The sitting was procedurally invalid and lacked the authority to elect a new speaker. We’ve taken a decision to take the council decision on legal review”.
A recently formed coalition comprising the ANC, EFF and UDM managed to remove Trollip as well as former speaker Jonathan Lawack on Monday after several attempts, this time with the help of a single rogue DA councillor Victor Manyati, who Maimane confirmed at the briefing will no longer be a member of the DA.
The pair has been replaced by UDM’s Mongameli Bobani as mayor and ANC’s Buyelwa Mafaya as speaker.
READ MORE: Trollip is staring down the barrel
According to Maimane, the coalition had repeatedly offered to help Manyati with his upcoming court case, in which he will be defending himself against fraud charges.
“They eventually got to him,” he said.
Maimane also said that he believes Trollip’s removal was punishment for their refusal to back expropriation without compensation, driven by the EFF.
