Political upheaval is sweeping through the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality after it asked its embattled manager, Thapelo Matlala, to explain why he should not be suspended amid growing demand for his removal.
Sunday World has learnt that on Thursday, September 4, a special council meeting resolved to give the municipal manager seven days to give cause as to why he shouldn’t be suspended.
This motion follows reports in the Sunday World two weeks ago, which laid bare allegations of corruption against Matlala. This prompted locals to take to the streets to make the demands, a proposal the municipality rejected: “There is no case against him; we cannot take decisions based on a story in a newspaper”.
Civic action kicks in
According to community leader Tumelo Mosikare, he and his collective then opened a case with the Kimberley police.
“While we were there, we learnt that the Hawks are investigating a case from 2023 anyway,” he told Sunday World.
“… we opened the fresh case of corruption and returned to the municipality, where we were informed that a special council meeting would be called for Thursday, September 4, at 9am to deliberate on community demands for the municipal manager’s head.”
The day before the protest on September 1, the leaders had written to demand that they be apprised of the fallout of the damning Sunday World report, to which the manager in the Office of the Executive Mayor, Vincent Phuroe, responded: “This communication serves as a formal response to your request.
“Please be advised that on August 25, 2025, the Executive Mayor instructed the Municipal Manager to submit a report regarding the article published in the Sunday World on August 24, 2025. The Office of the Executive Mayor confirms that the Municipal Manager has submitted a written report today, September 1, 2025. The Executive Mayor is currently reviewing the report and consulting the legal team for appropriate legal advice.
“We further assure you that an official statement will be issued once the legal review has been completed.”
Mayoral about-turn
A day later, when the leaders protested outside the council chambers, demanding Matlala’s suspension, it appeared that the mayor had changed his mind. Mosikare stated they were informed that the mayor couldn’t act based on the article.
Sunday World previously reported that warfare had erupted between local businessman Joseph Solani of Kapa Koni Investments (KKI) and his former business partner cum municipal head honcho, Matlala. At the heart of the fallout was the alleged refusal by Solani to bend his submission to Public Protector (PP) investigators to protect Matlala.
The investigators quizzed Matlala on May 30, 2023, after allegations surfaced that a tender to KKI had been “irregularly” issued. The contract has since been cancelled.
The crux of the allegation in the Sunday World was that Matlala had provided his own submission to the PP to the businessman to curate his narrative. While Matlala refutes the allegations, he has not clarified how Solani obtained the submission. Nonetheless, when Solani gave his side of the story to the investigators, it is alleged that he did not stick to the script. Immediately after this, his multimillion-rand contract with the municipality was cancelled.
Erstwhile bedfellows
Whistleblowers had also told Sunday World that Matlala and Solani once registered a business together and that the former was hired as municipal manager as a plant for the latter.
Matlala again denied to Sunday World that his appointment to the municipality was facilitated by Solani. However, both Solani and Phetolo Sithole, who previously held Matlala’s position in an acting capacity, insisted that Matlala’s appointment was irregular.
A previous Auditor-General report revealed that Matlala and Solani were once co-directors of Teemaneng Printers, a private company Matlala says never traded.
Matlala was accused of even going as far as writing a letter to KKI’s banker advocating for an extension of the company’s credit facility.
At the time of going to print, neither Matlala nor the Office of the Mayor had responded to Sunday World enquiries, but Northern Cape Hawks spokesperson Captain Tebogo Thebe acknowledged the recent case against Matlala but added it had yet to be evaluated.
When asked about the 2023 case, he protested that it was after hours, though it was only 5.10pm.
