Overview
- The Maluti-a-Phofung council removed ANC mayor Malekula Melato and elected MAP16 leader Paratlane Motloung as mayor during a stormy sitting in QwaQwa.
- ANC councillors, including the speaker, walked out in what opponents called an attempt to break quorum, and the remaining councillors picked an acting speaker to keep the meeting going.
- Two men burst into the hall and trashed furniture, with one reportedly carrying a knife, and police intervention allowed councillors to reconvene and finish the vote, which opposition figures said the Mail & Guardian reported as an ANC-linked disruption.
- Melato had filed an urgent case in the Free State High Court to block the motion, but the court struck the application from the roll earlier in the week.
- Several parties, including the DA and AIC, now contest the legality of Motloung’s installation, saying only 31 councillors voted when 36 were needed for a quorum, a fight that could prolong instability for residents in a municipality defined by fragile coalitions.