Staff Reporter
Bloemfontein – The Constitutional Court has brought an end to a legal marathon dating back to 2024, paving the way for the dissolution of the Ngwathe Local Municipality Council.
The lobby group delivered boxes only for them to be kicked out.
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The apex court on Tuesday dismissed the municipality’s latest attempt to overturn a court order directing that the council be dissolved, dealing a significant blow to the embattled municipality and ordering it to pay costs.
The matter stems from an application launched by AfriForum in May 2024, in which the civil rights organisation sought to have the municipality placed under administration due to its continued failure to fulfil its constitutional and statutory obligations.
In June 2025, Judge J.P. Daffue ruled that Ngwathe Municipality was failing to meet its constitutional, legal and administrative responsibilities towards residents of Parys, Heilbron, Koppies, Vredefort and surrounding areas.
Daffue ordered the dissolution of the municipal council and directed the Free State provincial government to intervene immediately.
However, the municipality repeatedly attempted to challenge the judgment through various appeals.
Those efforts proved unsuccessful. The municipality first failed in its bid before the Supreme Court of Appeal and later approached the Constitutional Court in a final attempt to overturn the ruling.
In February 2026, Judge Opperman ordered that Daffue’s judgment be put into operation pending the finalisation of appeal processes. The municipality subsequently sought leave to appeal that ruling as well.
In an exclusive interview with Alta from Afriforum, she made it clear abahambeeeee.
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Tuesday’s Constitutional Court judgment effectively closes the chapter on the prolonged legal battle and clears the way for the implementation of the court-ordered intervention.
The latest defeat raises fresh questions about the municipality’s prolonged legal strategy, which critics have described as an example of lawfare aimed at delaying accountability rather than addressing the underlying governance failures identified by the courts.
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The African National Congress in Free State, Joyce “Pretenders” Mathae Premier and Teboho “Sulky” Mokoena MEC for COGTA have not issued any statement.
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