On 26 June, the DA speaker of the Cederberg Municipality, Bertie Zass, allowed a motion of no confidence in the mayor, William Farmer, and the deputy mayor, Fransiena Sokuyeko. Zass resigned as council speaker and defected to the ANC, then voted with his new party to remove Farmer and Sokuyeko, a member of the Alliance of Democratic Congress .
Before the council sitting, the 11-seat Cederberg Municipality council consisted of five seats each for the ANC and DA, with the ADC taking the 11th seat. The DA led the municipality alongside the ADC, with Sokuyeka as deputy mayor. Following Zass’s defection, the ANC took over the municipality, with Sylvia Quntu becoming mayor. Mariaan Nel became deputy mayor and Paul Strauss took Zass’s vacant speaker position.Monday’s court ruling stated the decisions of the council meeting of 26 June were unlawful – including the removal of Farmer and Sokuyeko as well as the appointments of Quntu, Nel and Strauss.
The decision to make Strauss the council’s speaker, as well as any decisions made by Strauss as speaker were also declared unlawful. DA Western Cape leader Bonginkosi Madikizela said, “We are further encouraged that these members of the ANC along with Bertie Zass, who recently left the DA to join the ANC and who also initiated and presided over these unlawful proceedings, would be held financially responsible for the legal costs… this is a victory, not only for the DA, but for the people of Cederberg who, through their vote, elected the DA to govern the municipality.