The important South African town where two people claim to be mayor

The Ditsobotla Local Municipality in the North West province, which encompasses the agricultural towns of Lichtenburg and Coligny, is crippled by factional battles.

The infighting has reached such concerning levels that numerous individuals claim the mayorship, speakership, and position of accounting officer.

This battle has turned violent, with yet another shooting incident at the municipal building, where one person was seriously injured.

On 4 May 2025, at about 05h00 in the morning, two security companies clashed at the municipal buildings in Lichtenburg, resulting in them shooting at one another.

These include the newly appointed municipal security company, Eagle Springbok Security, and the private security appointed by the former municipal manager, Lifeways Security.

“During this shooting incident, there was one person seriously injured that was taken to a local hospital and from there transferred to another hospital. Police investigations are continuing,” said Colonel Adéle Myburgh, SAPS spokesperson in the province.

Myburgh confirmed that Lichtenburg police are currently investigating cases of attempted murder, trespassing, and the illegal discharge of a firearm.

They are also investigating a case of malicious damage to property for allegedly breaking locks to gain entry to the building.

This marks yet another hit to residents, which COGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa recently described as “one of the ten most distressed municipalities in the country” with a “paralysis of service delivery.”

It is alleged that the ongoing factional fights within the municipality are the root of the confrontation, with DA MPL CJ Steyl warning the ANC standoff risks deadly violence, as this is not the first shooting incident at the municipal offices.

In March, factional disputes in the council intensified as numerous individuals claimed the mayorship, speakership and position of municipal manager.

Municipal manager Olaotse Bojosinyane was dismissed by the council in January 2025 but won a labour court challenge ordering his reinstatement in February.

However, the municipality appealed this ruling, which suspended the operation of the reinstatement.

On 4 March 2025, Speaker Nico Modisakeng convened a council meeting in Lichtenburg to discuss the developments. Meanwhile, violence erupted outside.

Bojosinyane, with private security and supporters, attempted to reoccupy his office, while municipal security guards attempted to block entry.

Bojosinyane’s guards allegedly fired shots, injuring two municipal employees – one critically. Investigations are still ongoing.

Subsequently, some ANC, EFF, and some other party councillors met in Mafikeng, where ANC councilor Molefe Morutse was purportedly “elected” as new mayor and EFF’s Manana Bogatsu as speaker.

However, the leadership in the municipality disputed the legitimacy. Moruri and Modisakeng dismissed viral resignation letters as “fake and fraudulent,” with criminal cases opened with the SAPS.

Courts get involved

Following these problems, there was an urgent case in the High Court which addressed the dispute over who holds the legitimate leadership positions.

It was argued that they were creating parallel structures and interfering with the lawful functioning of the municipality.

This was after Bojosinyane was reinstated by the Labour Court, but an appeal against that decision was pending.

The court ultimately granted the interim interdict to prevent Bojosinyane, Morutse, and Bogatsu from acting in the disputed roles and interfering with the current office bearers.

Last week, the High Court in Mmabatho ruled that the current leadership must stay in place until all appeal processes are finalised. The court ordered that Rasupang Clarius Mooketsi continue as acting municipal manager.

On 30 April 2025, the court found that overturning the March order preventing Bojosinyane, Morutse and Bogatsu from holding their positions during the appeal would “lead to further instability in the Ditsobotla Municipality.”

“The circumstances in Ditsobotla are clearly disorderly,” the court stated. “The upholding of the order will bring clarity and stability while the appeal process is still ongoing.”

“If the order is not upheld, residents in Ditsobotla will continue to suffer from service delivery problems due to management disputes in the municipality.”

“The dispute surrounding leadership and the duplication of leadership in Ditsobotla has been raging since 2022,” added the court.

However, Morutse rejected this and said in a subsequent media statement that “Bojosinyane remains the legitimate Accounting Officer of the municipality based on judgement of the Labour Court on 28 February 2025.”

He alleged that Mooketsi was previously suspended due to “serious and malicious allegations of corruption,” which have been denied.

Collapsing service delivery

As political chaos unfolds, residents and businesses continue to bear the brunt through service delivery problems.

A recent visit by BusinessTech documented the worsening situation, with residents and stakeholders saying conditions have deteriorated steadily over 15 years.

Residents have suffered persistent failures in water, electricity, sanitation, and road maintenance, sparking frequent protests.

In 2021, Clover shut down its major cheese factory in Ditsobotla, explicitly blaming “ongoing poor service delivery.”

Sakeliga, the Ditsobotla Services Association (DSA), and the DA have called for national government intervention, citing the failure of provincial efforts to restore order.

Meanwhile, the ANC in the North West is reportedly considering merging Ditsobotla with neighbouring municipalities after the 2026 local elections, should provincial interventions continue to fail.

Steyl criticised the lack of action for previous calls for a permanent public order police unit in Ditsobotla, and has written to the National Police Commissioner to request police deployment at the municipal offices.

“It is regrettable that private security companies have now allegedly aligned themselves with warring ANC factions in Ditsobotla, perhaps in a bid to secure and maintain long-standing and lucrative contracts,” said Steyl.

“Much like municipal officials have aligned themselves with warring ANC factions, all while residents continue to endure life without water and electricity supply.”

“Under no circumstances can Ditsobotla residents continue to live under a general state of lawlessness. Law, order and service delivery must be restored,” added Steyl.

The DA said that it will again write to the COGTA Minister Hlabisa, bringing recent developments to his attention and urging him that Ditsobotla must be placed under Section 139(7) national government administration.

Ditsobotla did not respond to questions by time of publication. The Head of Communications had said that he did not know, because he was recently relieved of his duties.

Meanwhile Morutse published a media statement condemning the DA’s claims, flouted the February Labour Court Judgement as proof of legitimacy, and said that he and his “coalition” commits to financial recovery and improved governance.

This is despite the April 30th High Court order.

Photos of Ditsobotla