This development comes after the party called on Khumalo to step down from his position as mayor in light of his recent arrest alongside senior accounting officer, Cyril Henry, and caretaker Mohau Shuping, for fraud and theft charges. The leader of the DA in JB Marks, which includes Potchefstroom and Ventersdorp, Chris Hattingh, says Khumalo has left them with no choice and further alleges two of the accused have contravened one of their bail conditions.

Hattingh says it has been two weeks since the party gave Khumalo the ultimatum of stepping down from his position or face a possible ousting in council. Until today, their request has “fallen on deaf ears”, says Hattingh. Furthermore, the party alleges two of the officials have entered the municipal grounds despite bail conditions barring them from doing so. The DA caucus leader alleges Henry and Shuping “are operating from the adjacent library building and are even requested by the Municipal Manager (MM) to participate in shortlisting panels to appoint municipal officials”. 

He says they have reported their allegations regarding the contravention of the bail conditions to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks. The DA has also filed a motion of no-confidence application against JB Marks Council Speaker, Elias Mogoeemang.

The JB Marks Municipality is yet to comment on the allegations made by Hattingh.

It is alleged that the funds the trio stands accused of misappropriating, were donated by the “North West University (NWU) and the Programme for Community Development,” for the municipality’s special projects. These funds allegedly ended up in the bank accounts of the accused. 

They stand accused of falsifying invoices, making it appear that the unlawful payments were for services rendered. 

Khumalo managed to survive three motions of no confidence votes against him in his tenure thus far, a point which Hattingh blames on the ANC. Following Khumalo’s arrest, the ANC stated they believe in the constitutional rights of individuals to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Khumalo, Henry, and Shuping will reappear in the Potchefstroom Magistrate's Court on 1 December.

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