The City of Tshwane has quietly redrawn the legal battlefield in the high-stakes court fight over suspended city manager Johann Mettler, abandoning any attempt to defend the controversial council meeting that removed him and instead asking the High Court to protect the municipality from the fallout if the suspension is overturned.
It is a striking shift in litigation strategy.
Rather than joining issue with the Democratic Alliance over whether the council acted lawfully, acting city manager Dr Musa Khumalo tells the court the city is not there to justify the meeting, defend the speaker or even prove the disputed vote count.
“The City does not, through this affidavit, seek to defend the conduct and resolutions of the Council meeting, justify the Speaker’s ruling, prove the correctness of the vote count, or pre-empt the evidence of the Speaker, the Municipal Council, the Council Secretariat or the Executive Mayor,” Khumalo says in the answering affidavit.
‘Validity of municipal acts and decisions’
Instead, the municipality narrows its case to one question: what happens to the administration if the court restores Mettler to office before the broader dispute is finally decided?
The City’s lawyers are effectively telling the court that others can fight over the politics of the council meeting. Their concern is preserving the legal validity of decisions already taken under the current acting arrangement.
“The city’s institutional concern… is the continued legal efficacy and validity of municipal acts and decisions already taken in reliance upon the formally operative council resolution and acting arrangement,” Khumalo states.
That distinction runs through the affidavit.
The City expressly says it is neither conceding the DA’s case nor asking the court to decide the merits through its evidence. Instead, it seeks what lawyers call transitional relief – court directions that would regulate what happens if power changes hands.
The affidavit argues that restoring Mettler is not as simple as allowing him to walk back into his office.
The order sought by the DA would immediately replace the statutory head of administration and accounting officer, requiring the transfer of “systems, records, staff, reporting lines and pending administrative responsibilities”.
The City complains that the DA’s notice of motion does not prescribe “an effective time, a handover protocol, a saving provision, or the treatment of municipal acts already completed before the order”.
Separate application brought by Solidarity
It also warns that uncertainty is compounded by a separate application brought by Solidarity, which seeks broader relief arising from the same council meeting.
For that reason, the municipality asks the court to ensure any order clearly regulates its temporal effect.
Khumalo argues there must never be a situation where officials receive competing instructions.
“There must be no period during which two persons purport to issue competing instructions as city manager or accounting officer, or during which officials do not know which functionary lawfully bears responsibility,” the affidavit states.
The City further distances itself from any suggestion that it is trying to preserve an unlawful arrangement.
“The City does not seek to preserve an unlawful state of affairs. I have no personal interest in remaining in office contrary to an order of court,” Khumalo says.
The strategy represents a notable litigation pivot.
Rather than spending pages defending the disputed council proceedings, the municipality accepts that those battles will be fought by the Speaker, the council and other respondents.
Its own case is confined to ensuring that contracts, payments, reporting obligations, delegations and other municipal decisions already taken do not become collateral damage if the court ultimately reinstates Mettler.
- The City of Tshwane has changed its legal approach in the court case over suspended city manager Johann Mettler, no longer defending the council meeting that removed him.
- Acting city manager Dr Musa Khumalo tells the court the city won't justify the meeting or prove the vote count but seeks to protect the municipality from disruptions if Mettler is reinstated.
- The city's primary concern is maintaining the legal validity of decisions made under the current acting arrangements, not contesting the political dispute.
- The city requests the court to issue transitional orders outlining how power should be handed over if Mettler returns, emphasizing clear protocols to avoid conflicting instructions.
- Tshwane distances itself from preserving any unlawful situation and focuses solely on preventing administrative chaos and ensuring continuity in municipal operations.
