The DA in Tshwane has threatened to go to court, seeking a legal remedy, after its motion of no confidence in Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise was disallowed on technical grounds at Thursday night’s ordinary council sitting in Tshwane House. 

DA caucus leader Cilliers Brink said the party believes the speaker’s ruling was deemed unlawful, citing Section 58 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act, which they argue grants the DA a clear right to bring such a motion. 

The motion was rejected because an investigation into Modise’s alleged failure to disclose his interest in the security firm Triotic Protection Services is still under way, with the council’s speaker calling it “premature” and saying the motion “expresses opinion and advances arguments”.

The company in question secured the tender in 2016/17, years before he became a councillor in 2023.

Modise, who also serves as MMC for Finance, said he resigned from Triotic, a company owned by his mother, Nelly Modise, and directed by Neo Mafodi, allegedly the mother of his child. 

Acting council Speaker Seabelo Marishane said an investigation was launched after DA Chief Whip Jacqui Uys requested an urgent probe. 

“On February 26, 2025, the Speaker’s Office received a letter from the Office of the City Manager, informing the speaker of a complaint on an allegation of a conflict of interest against the deputy. That letter detailed that Councillor Jacqui Uys of the DA submitted a complaint and requested that an urgent investigation be lodged. Subsequent to that, the Office of the City Manager requested that the speaker authorise the chief audit executive to commence with the formal investigation,” he said. 

Marishane said that since the investigation is still under way and is expected to be concluded by November 2025, “it would be premature to deal with this motion at this stage when the report and then outcome of the investigation has not yet been made available for council to deliberate on”.

In reply, Brink stated that the DA caucus holds the view that the ruling is deemed unlawful, and they intend to challenge it in court.

He said Section 58 of the Local Government: Municipal Structures Act (1998) gives the DA a right to bring a motion of no confidence in the deputy executive mayor.

“It doesn’t grant the speaker the discretion to disallow such a motion. We think that this ruling is unlawful, and we would like to refer your ruling to the rules of an ethics committee. We will see you in court,” he said.

Earlier this week, Uys claimed Mayor Nasiphi Moya has been “sitting on” an explosive report confirming that Modise benefits from a multimillion‑rand watchman‑services contract with the city. 

Three weeks ago, council Speaker Mncedi Ndzwanana confirmed his office received an investigative report alleging Modise failed to disclose his interest in the security firm Triotic Protection Services, which does business with the municipality .

However, he said the report will be presented to the council for consideration once a legal opinion has been obtained.

The report in question emanates from concerns raised by the DA earlier this year that Modise had past ties to a security company, namely Triotic Protection Services, with municipal contracts.

According to a recent media report, Tshwane’s internal investigation has allegedly found that Modise might have flouted council regulations by failing to divulge and divest his interest in Triotic Protection Services.

Uys said: “In terms of the Code of Conduct for councillors in the Municipal Systems Act, councillors cannot benefit from contracts with the municipality. If this rule is important for councillors, it is critical for a Finance MMC, the councillor with executive responsibility for the supply chain management division of the municipality.”

She said earlier this year, the municipality extended the contracts of Triotic and other security companies without following a competitive bidding process, resulting in R170 million in irregular expenditure.

Uys said another of Modise’s companies leases a property on which Tshwane is owed R23 million in arrears municipal debt, but the services to the property have not been cut by the city.

She said the irony is that Modise has often joined Tshwane Ya Tima cut-off campaigns and warns defaulting municipal consumers to pay their bills.

“By keeping Modise on as Finance MMC, Moya is jeopardising Tshwane’s finances and the integrity of her own administration and its ability to bring fundamental changes to the financial rescue mission of the City of Tshwane,” she said.

Uys previously exposed that despite owing SARS R59m, Triotic Protection Services was appointed to the City of Tshwane’s Watchman Services Panel and awarded a R49m security tender with the Gauteng Health Department.

Two weeks ago, Modise hit back at the DA’s call for his ousting from office, saying that their efforts to oust him will be unsuccessful.

rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za

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