Matjhabeng’s Thanduxolo Khalipha was named among those who will face disciplinary action by the ANC for allegedly bringing the party into disrepute. On Tuesday (26/5), ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the NEC had received and considered a report concerning party members Khalipha, Sisi Tolashe, Bheki Cele, ANC Sedibeng regional secretary Jason Mkhwane and City of Johannesburg MMC Sithembiso Zungu.

“They have brought the party into disrepute, and the national disciplinary committee is going to recommend a sanction,” Mbalula told a media briefing at Luthuli House in Johannesburg. The ANC integrity commission had presented a report to the NEC over the weekend.

Khalipha has repeatedly found himself under scrutiny. He was convicted and sentenced for assaulting his bodyguard on 12 December 2024.

The Odendaalsrus Magistrate’s Court found him guilty of common assault and two counts of crimen injuria. He received a fine of R5,000 or three months’ imprisonment for the assault charge, and R1,000 or one month’s imprisonment for the crimen injuria charges. He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.

Khalipha had stepped aside for several months before Mbalula instructed the ANC’s Free State leadership in April 2025 to reinstate him pending the outcome of internal party processes.

At the time, Mbalula said the matter had been escalated to the ANC’s National Executive Committee and removed from provincial jurisdiction because of its divisive nature. He said the matter was being reviewed at national level and provincial leaders would be guided on the next steps.

Khalipha’s leadership again came under scrutiny when he appeared before members of the provincial legislature to respond to the recent Auditor-General’s report two weeks ago, which painted a grim picture of Matjhabeng Municipality’s finances.

Concerns resurfaced during a provincial legislature sitting where the intervention team deployed to Matjhabeng delivered a severe assessment of the municipality’s financial state.

OFM News previously reported former Free State MEC Makalo Mohale, who heads the intervention team, accused municipal leadership of resisting cooperation with provincial efforts to rescue the struggling municipality. Khalipha, however, rejected claims that the municipality was refusing to cooperate.

Provincial DA cooperative governance and traditional affairs spokesperson David MacKay accused Khalipha of misleading council through “hollow reports” and undermining provincial intervention efforts aimed at stabilising the municipality.

ANC MPL and chairperson of the joint committee on public accounts, finance and cooperative governance, Oupa Khoabane, warned Matjhabeng officials led by Khalipha against allowing personal conduct to negatively shape perceptions of the municipality.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi sm

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