Top city official forced to resign amid death threats

Mogalakwena’s municipal manager has been placed on compulsory leave under strange circumstances, following his forced resignation.

Mogalakwena municipality in Limpopo is home to roughly 370,000 residents and contributes largely to South Africa’s platinum mining industry.

The municipality contains Mokopane, a well-known agricultural city and tourism hub north of Gauteng.

The area has come under scrutiny after placing its municipal manager, Morris Maluleka, on compulsory leave.

This decision was made during a council meeting on 1 July 2026, which the Democratic Alliance (DA) considered irregular.

The DA said that municipal councillors were not given enough time to prepare for the meeting, with less than 24 hours’ notice.

The party also said councillors were not given the meeting agenda or the necessary information to prepare for it.

“These shortcomings may constitute non-compliance with Council’s Rules and Orders and render the meetings and resulting resolutions procedurally irregular,” the DA said.

The decision to place Maluleka on compulsory leave follows the municipal manager’s tender of his resignation on 18 June 2026.

This resignation letter stated that he would continue to serve in his position until 30 November 2026, long before his contract was due to end.

On 29 June 2026, Maluleka’s resignation was noted by the municipality’s council, who appeared to accept the letter.

The DA said the council’s decision to place him on compulsory leave could open the municipality to legal and financial challenges.

The party said compulsory leave could be seen as suspension by South Africa’s labour courts, which have specific processes that must be followed.

“Where compulsory leave is used as a precautionary suspension, the prescribed statutory process and procedural fairness must be followed,” the party said.

If these procedures were not followed, the municipality could face legal action or their decisions may be put under review.

The war over Maluleka’s resignation

Maluleka said his decision to resign came after pressure from political parties and death threats over his continuing as municipal manager.

He wrote a letter to Mogalakwena’s executive mayor, Ngoako Taueatsoala, saying his resignation had been coerced.

“In terms of the resignation letter I submitted, I indicated that I was not voluntarily leaving my position, but I was instructed to vacate the office,” he said.

In his letter, he did not understand why the municipal council had decided to place him on special leave after accepting his letter of resignation.

He said he did not plan on applying for any leave and intended to serve as municipal manager until 30 November 2026.

He alleged that the pressure on him to resign, along with the decision to place him on leave, came from the African National Congress (ANC) political leadership.

This pressure from outside groups was unlawful, as only the municipality’s executives have power over his contract.

Before Maluleka resigned, the municipality had created the impression that he was refusing to vacate his position, leading to death threats from community members.

“In the last two weeks, I have received threats on my life because an impression is created that I am refusing to vacate the office,” he said.

Maluleka’s removal comes on the back of several allegations of corruption and improper conduct within the municipality.

This includes a rental agreement between the municipality and a private company for cars and vehicles.

Allegedly, the municipality paid for these vehicles in advance to fund the private company’s purchase.

After the Auditor General flagged this as irregular, the Mogalakwena municipality purchased the assets from the company.

The purchase of surveillance cameras for the area has also been questioned, with R45 million allegedly spent on these systems despite them not working.

In 2025, DA MP Beyers Smit commented on these allegations and called for an investigation into Maluleka and other municipal officials.