The legal battle to stop disciplinary action against five City of Tshwane officials has collapsed, opening the door to a fresh inquiry into a R291-million wastewater tender that investigators say may have been manipulated to favour a single bidder.
The Labour Court dismissed the officials’ urgent bid to halt the disciplinary hearing, ruling that the allegations must be tested through the disciplinary process rather than blocked before evidence is heard.
New evidence by SIU
But buried in the court’s decision is a serious claim at the heart of the issue: that new evidence found by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) changed the situation from just possible mistakes to claims of intentional manipulation of the tender.
The court recorded that the SIU evidence suggested the misconduct had been elevated “from mere ineptitude to dishonest intent to engineer the tender evaluation”. This to ensure that Blackhead Joint Venture, linked to controversial businessman, Edwin Sodi, became “the preferred (and in fact the only) bidder”.
The allegation strikes at the heart of the Rooiwal scandal, whether a multibillion-rand public infrastructure project failed because of poor administration, or whether the procurement process itself was compromised.
The officials deny wrongdoing and had argued that the city was unfairly subjecting them to a second disciplinary process over the same conduct. They argued that the charges were delayed and that they would suffer prejudice because the events dated back to 2017 and 2018.
But the court rejected the argument that the process should be stopped.
Was a second disciplinary hearing fair?
Judge Benita Whitcher found that labour law does not apply criminal-style “double jeopardy” rules automatically, saying the question was whether a second disciplinary hearing was fair in the circumstances.
The judgment found that the city’s case was based on new material from the SIU investigation, which was conducted under a presidential proclamation.
That evidence allegedly showed that the Blackhead Joint Venture tender failed to include crucial technical documents, including Addendum 1 and RDE5 and RDE6 forms. The court recorded that these requirements were only submitted about two years after the tender had been awarded.
The SIU evidence also allegedly identified omissions involving the bidder’s functionality evaluation, staff experience, references and key personnel – yet the tender was awarded extremely high scores, including full marks in some areas.
Findings justify reopening of disciplinary process
The city’s position is that these findings justify reopening the disciplinary process.
In its statement after the judgment, Tshwane said the ruling affirmed its decision to pursue new charges against the officials and allow labour processes to continue. The municipality said the new charges were based on SIU referrals and that the Blackhead Joint Venture tender had already been declared irregular and set aside by the Pretoria High Court.
The officials’ legal argument was that the city should not be allowed to restart disciplinary proceedings years after the tender process. But the court found that delay alone was not enough to stop accountability proceedings.
“Trying to block the disciplinary hearing is an invalid way to handle the complaints raised,” the judgment states, finding that the proper route was to raise those issues before the disciplinary chairperson.
The court also warned that public institutions cannot simply abandon accountability where public money and public duties are involved. It held that no public entity may waive a right that exists “in the interests of the public”.
ALSO READ: SIU wants those implicated in Tshwane wastewater graft charged
- The Labour Court dismissed an urgent bid by five Tshwane officials to halt disciplinary hearings related to a R291-million wastewater tender allegedly manipulated to favor a single bidder, Blackhead Joint Venture.
- New Special Investigating Unit (SIU) evidence suggests intentional tender manipulation, escalating the matter from possible mistakes to dishonest conduct to favor Blackhead Joint Venture, linked to Edwin Sodi.
- SIU findings highlighted critical omissions in the tender, such as missing technical documents and inflated evaluation scores, justifying a fresh disciplinary inquiry despite the officials' denial and claims of unfair delay.
- Judge Benita Whitcher ruled that the second disciplinary hearing is fair as the new SIU evidence presented after the initial process supports reopening accountability proceedings.
- Tshwane municipality affirmed its decision to pursue new charges following the ruling, emphasizing the importance of accountability in public institutions managing public funds.
But buried in the court's decision is a serious claim at the heart of the issue: that new evidence found by the Special
But the court rejected the argument that the process should be stopped.
Judge Benita Whitcher found that labour law does not apply criminal-style “double jeopardy” rules automatically, saying the question was whether a second disciplinary hearing was fair in the circumstances.
In its statement after the judgment,
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ALSO READ: SIU wants those implicated in
