Court halts controversial reinstatement of corruption-accused CFO of South African town

The High Court in Mahikeng has effectively blocked the controversial reinstatement of the City of Matlosana’s former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mercy Phetla.

In a ruling handed down on Tuesday, 10 February 2026, the court suspended the execution of a council resolution that sought to return the corruption-accused official to office.

The urgent application was brought by civic organisation Nova Matlosana in Action NPC against the Speaker of the Council, the Municipal Council, and Phetla herself.

The matter was heard before the Honourable Judge Peterson, who ruled in favour of the civil society group.

Judge Peterson granted an order condoning the applicant’s non-compliance with standard time limits due to the urgency of the matter.

The court order explicitly suspends the operation and execution of the resolution adopted by the Municipal Council on 4 February 2026, purporting to reinstate the Phetla as Chief Financial Officer.

Crucially, the court declared that pending the finalisation of Part B of the application, Phetla “is not entitled to report for duty or to perform any functions as Chief Financial Officer of the City of Matlosana.”

The issue of legal costs has been reserved for the determination of Part B of the application, which will deal with the final review of the council’s decision.

Civil society steps up

While opposition parties, specifically the Democratic Alliance (DA), had vocally opposed the council’s decision and threatened criminal charges, it was the civic coalition Nova Matlosana in Action that successfully filed the urgent legal papers on 6 February 2026 to halt the process.

The organisation describes itself as a coalition of stakeholders across the region, including business chambers, churches, and local enterprises, formed to challenge unlawful municipal conduct.

Nova Matlosana argued that the council lacked the legal authority to override a completed disciplinary process and that the resolution to reinstate Phetla was unlawful.

The court order serves as a stinging rebuke to the coalition of political parties in the Matlosana council—comprising factions of the ANC, the EFF, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), and the ACDP—who voted 34 to 25 last week to bring Phetla back.

The council’s resolution instructed Municipal Manager Lesego Seametso to reverse the termination letter issued to Phetla in January 2026.

This was despite a disciplinary inquiry, chaired by Advocate S. Sethene, which found Phetla guilty of “calculated acts designed to defraud the municipality” rather than mere administrative errors.

The charges against Phetla include the “Variegated” scandal, involving alleged “ghost deliveries” of electrical materials worth over R6 million.

Phetla was also arrested by the Hawks in January 2024 for allegedly receiving a VW Amarok bakkie worth R1.4 million from a service provider, GMHM Construction and Projects, as a gift she failed to declare.

In late 2025, the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained a preservation order to seize luxury assets linked to her, including a Maserati Levante and a Range Rover.

Governance crisis

The Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Velenkosini Hlabisa, called an emergency meeting with provincial leaders on 8 February 2026.

This was to discuss a mitigation plan for the city, which has regressed to a qualified audit opinion and owes Eskom approximately R1.5 billion.

The attempted reinstatement has triggered a constitutional crisis in the North West province.

Following the impending court action, the ANC Provincial leadership instructed its deployees to invoke Section 139(1)(b) of the Constitution to assume executive authority over the municipality.

For now, the High Court’s ruling ensures that the status quo of Phetla’s dismissal remains in force.

She is legally barred from entering the municipal offices or handling public funds until the court makes a final determination on the legality of the council’s actions.

The City of Matlosana was contacted for comment, but did not reply by time of publication. This will be added once received.