LazyLion
King of de Jungle
An Mpumalanga municipal administrator was arrested on Monday for allegedly defying a court order, co-operative governance MEC Simon Skhosana said.
Theo van Vuuren, the Emalahleni (Witbank) local municipality administrator, was released on a warning and expected to appear in the Witbank Magistrate's Court on August 7, Skhosana said in a statement.
The arrest related to an order issued by the High Court in Johannesburg in November after the Emalahleni local municipality sold a piece of land to the local Muslim community to build a mosque in 2007.
A group opposing the transaction took the matter to the high court, citing procedural flaws in the way the sale was handled. The high court ruled that the transaction be reversed.
Skhosana said Van Vuuren's arrest was unwarranted as the municipality was already complying with the court order.
"We are concerned that this arrest comes at a time when the municipality is turning around and the administrator is implementing the turnaround strategy. Significant progress is being made by the municipality," he said.
Skhosana said the municipality was seeking clarity from the court on some sections of the ruling. However, Van Vuuren had already written to the Muslim community telling them to tear down all structures built on the land.
The municipality had instructed its legal team to look into Van Vuuren's arrest. It was looking at pursuing legal action for unlawful arrest, Skhosana said.
Source : Sapa /gq/hdw/th/ks
Date : 22 Jul 2013 16:31
Theo van Vuuren, the Emalahleni (Witbank) local municipality administrator, was released on a warning and expected to appear in the Witbank Magistrate's Court on August 7, Skhosana said in a statement.
The arrest related to an order issued by the High Court in Johannesburg in November after the Emalahleni local municipality sold a piece of land to the local Muslim community to build a mosque in 2007.
A group opposing the transaction took the matter to the high court, citing procedural flaws in the way the sale was handled. The high court ruled that the transaction be reversed.
Skhosana said Van Vuuren's arrest was unwarranted as the municipality was already complying with the court order.
"We are concerned that this arrest comes at a time when the municipality is turning around and the administrator is implementing the turnaround strategy. Significant progress is being made by the municipality," he said.
Skhosana said the municipality was seeking clarity from the court on some sections of the ruling. However, Van Vuuren had already written to the Muslim community telling them to tear down all structures built on the land.
The municipality had instructed its legal team to look into Van Vuuren's arrest. It was looking at pursuing legal action for unlawful arrest, Skhosana said.
Source : Sapa /gq/hdw/th/ks
Date : 22 Jul 2013 16:31