Pretoria - Lawyers of the expelled ActionSA councillor in Tshwane, Sizwe Skhosana, have given the party an ultimatum to reinstate him to his position or face an urgent court challenge.
On February 7, the party’s former chief whip in council received a letter from the chairperson of the ethics and disciplinary committee, Alistar Shaw, notifying him of a decision to terminate his membership and recall him as a PR councillor.
He was accused of destabilising the party caucus in council and of driving a factional agenda with an attempt to sabotage the work of ActionSA’s MMC for economic development and spatial planning, André le Roux.
In a letter seen by the Pretoria News, Baphasile Mthimunye Attorneys claimed the termination letter was legally flawed in that the allegations made were unsubstantiated as they didn’t indicate to Skhosana as to “what, when, where, to whom or by saying what he was alleged to have breached the party’s constitution”.
For example, the lawyers said, it was alleged that Skhosana disrupted or destabilised party structures, “especially the Tshwane caucus by engaging in conduct with intent to further a factional agenda”.
“The conduct he allegedly engages in and the date(s) and the places where it occurred were not stated in the letter,” they said.
They said the termination of Skhosana’s membership was made in terms of clause 2.14.1 read with clause 2.14.1.7 of the party’s constitution.
“The interim constitution of the party, which was approved on May 6, 2022, does not have such clauses.”
Skhosana’s lawyers stated that they were instructed to demand the withdrawal of his membership termination with effect from yesterday.
Failure to comply with the demand, they said, would result in their client approaching the court on an urgent basis “seeking an interim order to suspend the effecting of the challenged decision pending an application to set the termination aside”.
Skhosana has become the latest prominent party member from Tshwane to be fired. Last year the party dismissed Abel Tau, who was MMC for housing and human settlements in the City of Tshwane and ActionSA provincial secretary in Gauteng. Tau was removed after sex abuse allegations were levelled against him.
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont told the Pretoria News yesterday that the party would not abide by the deadline to withdraw the termination letter.
“And if Mr Skhosana would like to make a case before the courts of this country he has the freedom to go and do that and we will oppose that.”
He said Skhosana breached the party constitution and the standards expected of an ActionSA member.
Beaumont said the party caucus in Tshwane was faced with challenges, which warranted an independent investigation conducted by ActionSA provincial chairperson in the Eastern Cape, Athol Trollip.
He said Trollip concluded that there were “very serious disciplinary issues that had to be looked at in the City of Tshwane” party caucus. “And at the heart of disciplinary issues or behaviour was Sizwe Skhosana,” he said.
Pretoria News