Makwarela quits as Tshwane mayor, councillor over fake clearance document

JOHANNESBURG - Embattled Tshwane Mayor Murunwa Makwarela has quit as both the city’s number one citizen and as a councillor.

This follows a statement from the high court refuting his claims that it had issued a clearance certificate that he had been rehabilitated following his insolvency.

READ: Court confirms Tshwane Mayor's debt 'rehabilitation' certificate was fake

City manager Johann Mettler had reinstated Makwarela on Thursday after receiving what is now known to be a fake document.

The high court has also referred this matter to the specialised policing unit, the Hawks, for criminal proceedings.

'FOLLOW THE RULES'

Makwarela’s sudden resignation comes after he vowed to continue as the executive mayor earlier on Friday.

Meanwhile, the DA-led multiparty coalition has opened a case against the embattled politician.

After a tumultuous two weeks for Makwarela in which he was elected as Tshwane mayor, removed and later re-instated, he has finally resigned from the position.

In his resignation letter, Makwarela said that him stepping down was not an admission of guilt but that he wanted the municipality to focus on service delivery.

Earlier on Friday, Makwarela addressed the media where said that he welcomed an investigation into the rehabilitation certificate he provided to the city manager.

"We just need to follow the rules, it's always safe to play by the rules. The courts are there to test these things and I think we encourage, in particular, the city manager to also test these things properly."

However shortly after that, the chief registrar in the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Tumelo Ledwaba, announced that no rehabilitation order had ever been issued by the courts regarding Makwarela’s insolvency.

The DA caucus chair in Tshwane, Jacqui Uys, who was at the Brooklyn police station to open a case against Makwarela, said that they welcomed his resignation.

"That will, however, not deter us from opening the fraud cases because it still remains a criminal act."

The Congress of the People (Cope) is expected to hold a press briefing on Friday regarding this matter.

VETTING QUESTIONS

At the same time, questions are being asked about how Makwarela became a councillor in the first place and whether he was properly vetted.

The IEC has responded on its quality control processes, saying that it was not responsible for the vetting processes when a mayor is appointed.

The electoral commission said that the responsibility was with the municipal manager to ensure that the documents submitted by a candidate were legitimate.

Deputy chief electoral officer at the IEC, Mawethu Mosery, said that part of their role was to ensure that the candidate was old enough to vote.

"Our responsibility is to ensure that you are a registered voter and secondly, that you are of mature age to vote and thirdly, you are within the municipality that you contest."