Key State witnesses in the corruption case against former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede, along with the forensic company that investigated her, have filed court papers at the Durban High Court.

They are seeking an order to compel the eThekwini Municipality to investigate financial misconduct and maladministration.

Integrity Forensic Solutions CC (IFS) is the first applicant in the court papers, followed by key witnesses in Gumede’s ongoing case.

Due to the active nature of the case, media outlets are prohibited from naming any witnesses for safety reasons.

According to court papers filed on Monday, IFS director Leo Saunders claims that on May 30, 2025, the Executive Committee of eThekwini Municipality declined to investigate complaints of financial misconduct that IFS lodged on April 2, 2025.

Saunders stated in court papers: “This application simply seeks to ask those charged with investigating the applicants’ complaints to do so.”

The complaint alleges that City Manager Musa Mbhele, former acting head of eThekwini’s City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), Thulani Ntobela, and current CIIU boss Jimmy Ngcobo contravened various provisions of the municipality’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) policy. This occurred when they initiated and approved the appointment of Masama Consulting (PTY) Ltd and SVZ Consulting (PTY) Ltd, and subsequently made payments exceeding R17.5 million to these companies.

Masama and SVZ are the companies that probed the appointment of IFS and released a report in 2024, often referred to as the ‘Masama Report’. This report claimed that IFS was unlawfully appointed and also identified irregular payments.

Some of the findings from Masama and SVZ led to the dismissal of eThekwini employees who are key witnesses in Gumede’s case, and these witnesses are also applicants in the current matter.

Court documents indicate that these witnesses lodged the same complaint as IFS, and the municipality and its executive committee similarly declined to investigate.

Additionally, the applicants stated that on August 19, 2025, they delivered their complaints to the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) MEC.

Saunders asserted that the MEC “has failed to act on such a complaint in terms of his statutory obligation, and accordingly, a mandamus is sought directing him to investigate those complaints of financial misconduct and maladministration within the eThekwini Municipality.”

Saunders further noted that the inaction of the CoGTA MEC affected a member of the executive council for finance in KZN (fifth respondent), the Minister of Finance (sixth respondent), and the CoGTA Minister (seventh respondent), as they rely on the MEC to conduct their own investigations based on information he sources and conveys to them.

He also stated that the conduct of Mbhele, Ngcobo, Ntobela, Masama, SVZ, and an unnamed financial officer has left eThekwini vulnerable to financial mismanagement.

Saunders emphasised that they possess the basic right to have their complaints investigated.

He stated: “We have been effectively deprived of that right by the municipality and by the respondents and, in particular, the Executive Committee.”

The filed application names 20 respondents, including the aforementioned companies, eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba, his deputy Zandile Myeni, Speaker Thabani Nyawose, Mbhele, and councillors Thabani Mthethwa, Mduduzi Nkosi, and Nkosenhle Madlala.

The respondents have 45 days to respond to this application.

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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