SAMWU Condemns ANC’s Hypocritical Reinstatement of Khalipha as Betrayal of Workers and Justice

11 April 2025

SAMWU Condemns ANC’s Hypocritical Reinstatement of Khalipha as Betrayal of Workers and Justice

The South African Municipal Workers’ Union (SAMWU) in the Free State condemns in the strongest terms the African National Congress’ (ANC) morally bankrupt decision to reinstate Thanduxolo Khalipha as Mayor of Matjhabeng Local Municipality. This move flagrantly defies the ANC’s own prior resolutions and disregards overwhelming evidence of Khalipha’s criminality, corruption, and contempt for workers’ rights. The ANC’s actions are not merely inconsistent, they are a deliberate assault on justice, a reward for lawlessness, and a betrayal of every worker and resident who endured Khalipha’s tyrannical reign.

SAMWU’s opposition to Khalipha’s reinstatement is rooted in his proven record of abuse. In 2024, the Welkom Magistrate Court convicted him on one count of assault and two counts of crimen injuria for attacking a municipal worker tasked with protecting him—a crime that alone should have barred him from public office. Yet the ANC has chosen to rehabilitate a man guilty of violent assault, financial sabotage, and blatant disregard for the rule of law. This decision signals the ANC’s prioritisation of loyalty to corrupt elites over justice for workers.

Khalipha’s reinstatement entrenches years of ANC-enabled impunity. Under his leadership, Matjhabeng’s finances were plundered through reckless schemes, including the procurement of a defunct second-hand vehicle fleet that drained millions from municipal coffers while residents suffered chronic water shortages, electricity blackouts, and uncollected waste. His tenure was further stained by unresolved allegations of a clandestine “rogue unit” operating under his authority and the disappearance of municipal firearms—scandals the ANC continues to ignore despite SAMWU’s demands for transparency. These are not administrative failures but acts of systemic corruption that endangered public safety and diverted resources from service delivery to enrich Khalipha’s cronies.

The ANC’s hypocrisy is laid bare by its double standards. In Mohokare, Zingiswa Mgawuli was rightly removed for financial mismanagement and neglecting workers. Yet in Matjhabeng, where Khalipha’s crimes include assault, fraudulent tenders, and defiance of ANC directives, the party has resurrected him. This is no accident: the ANC seeks to create an illusion of accountability in Mohokare to mask its active collusion in Matjhabeng’s collapse. It is a smokescreen designed to shield the party’s complicity in propping up a leader who embodies the corruption it claims to oppose.

The ANC’s betrayal extends beyond tolerating Khalipha’s crimes. By reinstating him, the party has sabotaged the Section 139 Financial Recovery Plan—a lifeline approved by the Free State Provincial EXCO to rescue Matjhabeng from financial ruin. Khalipha’s return threatens to derail this intervention, ensuring millions meant for service delivery will again be squandered on vanity projects and patronage networks. Meanwhile, workers bear the brunt of his misrule: unpaid salaries, unsafe working conditions, and the humiliation of serving a mayor who views them as disposable pawns. SAMWU members—from wastewater technicians repairing broken sewers without protective gear to refuse workers stranded by dilapidated trucks—are left to clean up the mess created by leaders who prioritise self-enrichment over public service.

The ANC’s silence on missing firearms, which raises alarming questions about the militarisation of local governance, underscores its pattern of protecting allies at all costs. The party cannot claim to champion workers’ rights while forcing them to endure a mayor who attacks them physically, financially, and professionally.

As SAMWU, we therefore demand the ANC to:

1. Reverse Khalipha’s reinstatement immediately, enforce his permanent removal in line with its own PEC resolution, and cease undermining council processes.

2. Expedite criminal prosecutions against Khalipha for fraud and violations of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).

3. Launch independent forensic audits into Matjhabeng’s rogue unit, missing firearms, and all tenders approved under Khalipha’s tenure, with findings made public.

4. Compensate workers in Matjhabeng for wages stolen during strikes and withheld under Khalipha’s regime, including retroactive payments.

5. Apply the step-aside rule uniformly, ensuring no leader accused of serious crimes—including Khalipha—remains in office while under investigation.

SAMWU views Khalipha’s reinstatement as a declaration of war on workers and a surrender to corruption. The ANC has chosen to side with a convicted bully over the people of Matjhabeng, sacrificing their dignity for political expediency. We will not stand idle as the ANC trades one mayor’s removal for another’s resurrection. SAMWU, alongside COSATU, community allies, and residents, will mobilise every legal, political, and collective tool to ensure Khalipha faces justice and Matjhabeng is freed from his toxic legacy.

To the workers and residents of the Free State: SAMWU stands unwaveringly with you. This fight transcends one mayor—it is about dismantling a system that rewards corruption, punishes whistleblowers, and abandons those who serve their communities. The ANC’s smokescreen will not obscure our resolve.

Issued by SAMWU Free State Province

Thabang Tseuoa
Provincial Secretary
082 620 9160

Or

Sandla Mahlati
Deputy Provincial Secretary
072 658 0725