Durban – Msunduzi municipal manager Lulamile Mapholoba has given instructions for disciplinary proceedings to be instituted against a municipality employee who was been charged with murder.
Municipal spokesperson Ntobeko Mkhize said the suspect was arrested over the long weekend and was set to appear in court on Tuesday.
While the municipality did not have details of the court appearance, it is understood that the suspect made a brief appearance and the case was postponed to next week for a bail application.
Since the arrest of the employee became public, the municipality has sought to distance the suspect from mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla, but has conceded that the employee was previously attached to the mayor’s protection division.
“The municipality has verified and would like to place it on record that the employee is still employed in the municipality. He is a former bodyguard of the mayor, his tenure as the mayor’s bodyguard ended months ago when he secured a permanent position in another department within the municipality,” the spokesperson said.
It is understood that the suspect is now employed as a general assistant in the municipality.
Mkhize said that the disciplinary proceedings were to be handled by the municipality’s Internal Audit unit.
It is alleged that the suspect was arrested in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old from Dambuza in Pietermaritzburg, who was shot dead.