Former Mayor of Tshwane, Mr Mlungwa Makwalela. (Zintle Mahlati/News24)
- Former Tshwane mayor Mlungwa Makwarela has died.
- The current speaker is Tshwane The city council confirmed his death on Tuesday morning.
- Makwalela resigned as mayor shortly after being elected after he was accused of failing to declare his bankruptcy status and submitting a fake rehabilitation certificate.
Former Tshwane mayor Mlungwa Makwarela has died.
Tshwane City Council president Mnedi Nswanana confirmed Makwarela's death on Tuesday morning.
“It is a sad day for us because we have lost an important person: Dr Makwarela, a former speaker, former mayor and councilor of Tshwane,” Nzwanana said.
“He lost his life this morning. It is a sad day for the City and for the Speaker's office. Our condolences go out to his family and the people of Tshwane.”
Read | Former Tshwane mayor failed to reverse fraud case in court
Mr Makwalela's death came just a week after he appeared in the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court on fraud charges related to his insolvency status.
News24 reported that he had failed to have the fraud case removed from the court's roll.
fake rehabilitation certificate
Mr Makwalela, a Co-op councilor, took over as mayor in February 2023 following the resignation of Randall Williams.
He was nominated by the ANC and EFF and defeated DA candidate Cilliers Brink in the mayoral election.
Shortly after his election, it was revealed that Makwalela had been declared bankrupt in 2016.
News24 reported that the law prohibits people who have been declared bankrupt from holding public office.
Read | Murungwa Makwalela pleads not guilty to fraud charges, granted bail of R10,000
In an attempt to refute the information about the bankruptcy, Ms Makwalela submitted a certificate of rehabilitation purportedly issued by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
However, the court objected to issuing the certificate.
He resigned an hour after the registrar's letter was published, but insisted his resignation was not an admission of guilt, News24 reported at the time.
This led to the City of Tshwane filing a lawsuit against Makwalela.
He was charged with two counts of fraud relating to an allegedly forged Rehabilitation Court certificate and a period during which he earned more than R1.4 million as a Tshwane city councilor and chairman without disclosing his bankruptcy status. It was done.
