Rustenburg municipal manager attempts to block own misconduct hearing

By Johnathan Paoli

Rustenburg’s embattled municipal manager, Ashmar Khuduge, has reportedly launched an urgent bid in the Mahikeng High Court to halt a misconduct hearing into allegations of financial mismanagement and irregular expenditure.

ActionSA provincial secretary Ofentse Kombe stressed that Khuduge’s alleged failures have already cost the municipality hundreds of millions.

“These are not small mistakes but clear financial misconduct that law enforcement must handle. As Municipal Manager, Mr. Khuduge is legally obligated under Sections 61 and 62 of the MFMA to act in the best interests of the municipality. As an admitted legal practitioner, his conduct also violates the Code of Conduct for Legal Practitioners, a dereliction of duty that is unacceptable for any senior public official,” Kombe said.

The urgent application, filed ahead of a misconduct hearing, sought an interdict to halt the proceedings on the grounds that the special council sitting that initiated the process was irregular