Speaker of the City of Cape Town Council, Dirk Smit maintains that the decision to strip Mayor Patricia De Lille of her executive powers is legal.
The vote went along party lines with the DA majority in the council ensuring that the motion passed easily.
The vote reduced De Lille’s powers to ceremonial.
Smit says: “The item that was tabled in front of council was legally compliant and signed off by the City’s legal department.”
Opposition parties in the City of Cape Town council are adamant that the DA’s councillors’ vote was unlawful.
The parties maintain that the DA couldn’t do this, partly because of an earlier High Court ruling that she should be re-instated as executive mayor after the DA tried to use internal means to oust her.
The Al Jama-ah party has laid criminal charges against the Speaker, City Manager, three legal advisors and the 137 councillors in the City who voted at the full council sitting on Thursday.
Smit says: “The item was legally compliant and that Al Jama-ah can go the legal route and let us see the outcome.”
Meanwhile, De Lille says she will seek recourse from the courts over Thursday’s move.
