Madibeng Municipal Manager Quiet Kgatla, who was suspended in March, brought an urgent application to the Labour Court of South Africa for the suspension to be declared unlawful and for him to be reinstated immediately.

Quiet Kgatla

The Labour Court, however, struck the application from the roll, saying that Kgatla failed to prove the urgency of his application.
Kgatla was suspended on 28 March 2025 following allegations of financial misconduct. The allegation stemmed from the appointment of a contractor after a former contractor did not deliver services. This follows a previous council meeting where it was resolved that he would stay in office during investigations, as the allegations were exaggerated and baseless.
In his application to the Labour Court, Kgatla said the Disciplinary Regulations for senior municipal managers grant him an opportunity to make representations before the municipal council can resolve to suspend him. He submitted that he had been denied the opportunity.
Madibeng, in turn, denied having suspended the applicant unlawfully and submitted that it complied with the regulations.
Judge NZM Lallie said the significance of the need to prove urgency is that urgent applications allow applicants to have their cases heard and determined urgently without following all the relevant rules. “It creates an unfair advantage over other litigants who follow the rules and wait in the queue. An applicant for urgent relief must therefore give reasons for being entitled to the unfair advantage of the exemption from waiting for his turn,” Lallie said.
He found that Kgatla failed to prove the urgency of his application and that the application must be struck from the roll.
Madibeng sought a cost order against Kgatla, but the judge found that fairness does not justify such an order.