Chaos in council over convicted ANC councillor's presence

Female ANC councillors have closed ranks around Nelson Mandela Bay speaker Buyelwa Mafaya demanding that DA councillor Nqaba Bhanga be removed from the chamber.

A council meeting where the draft budget was to be tabled descended into chaos when the councillors started chanting "phuma" which, translated, means "get out".

Prior to that council debated about whether or not convicted ANC councillor Bhongo Nombiba should be in the chamber.

The matter was raised by DA councillor Morne Steyn who said he failed to understand why Nombiba was in the chamber when a warrant for his arrest had been issued.

But speaker Buyelwa Mafaya said she had been told that the warrant of arrest had been withdrawn.

Steyn said: "How is it possible that councillor Nombiba is present seeing that there is a warrant for his arrest?"

ACDP Councillor Lance Grootboom said Nombiba was illegally in the chamber.

"What we know is that there is a warrant of arrest issued and he shouldn't be here. He is illegally here.

"We have to make important decisions here. The issue is him sitting here is making him illegal here he must go, " Grootboom said.

DA councillor Nqaba Bhanga said they would not sit with criminals.

Soon after that female ANC councillors started chanting and demanded that Bhanga leave.

They left their seats.

The DA female councillors did the same and closed ranks around their leader Bhanga.