Joburg Speaker Mthembu denies claims she is among senior officials with large security detail

JOHANNESBURG - Johannesburg Council Speaker Nobuhle Mthembu has refuted claims that she is among senior city officials who travel with a large security detail.  

This follows a Johannesburg High Court ruling last week that declared the city’s VIP protection policy invalid and unconstitutional.  

The policy stipulates that the mayor is entitled to 10 bodyguards and six vehicles, while the speaker is allocated eight bodyguards and five cars.  

Mthembu has clarified that despite the policy’s approval, she has never been assigned eight bodyguards.  

In an interview on 702 last week, Johannesburg mayoral spokesperson Chris Vondo confirmed that all individuals eligible for bodyguards in the city had indeed been allocated their designated security detail. 

However, Mthembu denied reports claiming she has been assigned a lavish security detail of eight bodyguards.  

She also clarified that she has never travelled with a long convoy of blue-light vehicles, as suggested by the now unconstitutional VIP protection policy.  

“The speaker notes that the executive mayor, speaker, and whip of council have always complied with what the law has prescribed.”  

The VIP protection policy was already in place when she was elected speaker, having been passed months before her appointment.