Phiwokuhle Mothemela
Suspended Nelson Mandela Bay deputy executive mayor Gary van Niekerk has been reinstated. This followed a motion brought at council meeting on Thursday.
Van Niekerk was suspended last December after he was charged with two counts related to cybercrime and for contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act.
Speaker, Eugene Johnson, said 63 councillors voted in favour of Van Niekerk’s reinstatement, while 51 councillors voted against the motion.
She said five councillors abstained.
Algoa FM News previously reported that Van Niekerk was summoned to appear before the City's Specialised Commercial Crimes Court following a Hawks investigation that led to his arrest.
According to the charge sheet, the former mayor had incurred a legal bill of more than R570,000 when he challenged his expulsion from the former Northern Alliance (NA) in 2022.
At a previous court appearance, the defence indicated that they wanted to make certain representations to the national director of public prosecutions.
Van Niekerk will be back in court again on Monday for a pre-trial conference.
