Embattled Abantu Batho Congress (ABC) leader Philani Mavundla will stay put for now as UMvoti mayor and party president.
The party, which has various seats in several municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, has been engulfed by internal squabbles which reached a head with the suspension of Mavundla and party secretary-general Phumelele Phahla, among others.
They have been accused of financial impropriety.
At a media briefing in Durban on Wednesday, the party nullified the assertion by Mavundla that the national disciplinary committee has no powers to suspend him, insisting that the power was invested in him as the president of ABC.
“The investigation is ongoing and both the president and the secretary remain in their deployment pending the finalisation of the investigation. But they are not allowed to carry any other functions within the party,” said the ABC heavyweight Mduduzi Hlongwa.
“We must also put it as a matter of public record that despite attempts made for them to appear before the national disciplinary committee, they have not done so.”
Mavundla is also accused of treating the party as his personal fiefdom, refusing to take any accountability. This includes sharing falsehood publicly that he established ABC.
Mavundla, who is no stranger to controversy, was previously eThekwini metro deputy president, a position in which he relinquished unceremoniously.
While at eThekwini, he publicly butted heads with mayor Mxolisi Kaunda, who accused him of taking the limelight and presenting himself as the mayor, the claim Mavundla denied.
The ANC subsequently forced Mavundla out, but it was not too long before he did the political maneuvering dislodging the IFP in Umvoti to become a mayor.
Umvoti local municipality, which its administrative seat is in Greytown, is under the uMzinyathi district.
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