Criminal charges against municipal manager responsible for sewage spills

The DA has laid criminal charges against the Municipal Manager and Director of Technical Services in Thabazimbi for sewage spills.

Estie Fourie, a DA Councillor in Thabazimbi Local Municipality, said that these two officials have failed to adequately address persistent sewage spills.

This, she said, happened despite numerous reports and opportunities to intervene and resolve the problems.

“The sewerage system has been plagued with numerous challenges, exposing thousands of residents to health hazards,” she said.

For months, sewage problems have been reported through municipal channels, including Customer Care and Technical Services.

“Residents should not have to live with raw sewage flowing through streets, residential areas, public spaces and watercourses,” she said.

“Apart from the unbearable conditions, sewage pollution raises concerns regarding public health, environmental contamination and the dignity and quality of life.”

This, she explained, prompted them to pay criminal charges in the hope that it would place pressure on the Thabazimbi municipality to address sewage spills.

“We will follow up regularly with investigating officers and prosecutors on the progress in our cases to ensure that municipalities are held accountable,” she said.

“We will also cooperate with SAPS and have provided relevant information on various affected areas around Thabazimbi.”

We have also provided information about the severity of the sewage spills and the conditions being experienced by communities to assist the investigation.

“Municipal officials have a responsibility to ensure that essential services are managed effectively and that threats to residents and the environment receive attention,” she said.

Thabazimbi Local Municipality instability

Sewage issues are not the only challenge in the Thabazimbi Local Municipality. It is also facing political problems.

The Thabazimbi Local Municipality is so unstable that it has had three mayors in six months, with the problems escalating.

It has reached such concerning levels that the Limpopo Provincial Executive placed the municipality under administration.

However, this did not stop the governance problems in the municipality. Factional fighting has caused chaos in the municipal council.

The latest upheaval started on 28 February 2026, when a special meeting resulted in the Municipal Manager being issued with a notice of termination on 3 March 2026.

The Municipal Manager hit back, convening a special council meeting on 17 March 2026, which resolved to remove the Mayor, Cllr Pilane, and Speaker, Cllr Sebata.

They were replaced by Cllr Tshukudu and Cllr Mampeule, despite a special meeting convened by the Speaker, which did not proceed as a result of a lack of quorum.

On 12 June 2026, the council removed the new Mayor and Speaker, replacing them with Cllrs Ndiweni, Sebata and Mashao as Mayor, Speaker and Chief Whip.

However, Tshukudu did not accept being removed as mayor and continues to operate as mayor, resulting in an unstable, dysfunctional council.

On 22 June 2026, the MEC convened a meeting with all councillors, and subsequently, on 25 June 2026, with municipal management, to address the impasse.

The Department of Cooperative Governance reviewed all council meetings and resolutions to determine the rightful Mayor and Speaker.

The analysis indicated that the meeting that removed the Cllrs Tshukudu and Mampeule was duly constituted.

“Therefore, the elections of Cllrs Ndiweni, Sebata and Mashao as Mayor, Speaker and Chief Whip were compliant with applicable prescripts,” the department said.

The MEC is scheduled to present the findings of the investigation to the municipal council in due course.