City of Ekurhuleni places head of legal services Kemi Behari on precautionary suspension

The City of Ekurhuleni has placed its head of department for legal and risk services advocate Kemi Behari on precautionary suspension with full pay.

The city confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday, saying the decision follows a resolution taken by the council on November 18 but did not give explicit reasons for the suspension.

Behari was suspended for allegedly failing to take disciplinary action against now suspended city metro police boss Brig Julius Mkhwanazi in terms of a council resolution.

“In line with regulation 6(1) of the Disciplinary Regulations, the city manager, Mr Kagiso Lerutla, considered whether a basis existed to implement a precautionary suspension. Advocate Behari was afforded an opportunity to provide written representations in accordance with regulation 6(2),” it said.

“After careful consideration of these representations and the applicable legislative framework, the city manager resolved to institute a precautionary suspension.

“The suspension has been implemented strictly in terms of regulation 6(1), read together with subregulation (4) of the Disciplinary Regulations, and is further guided by regulation 6(6)(a) and (b) regarding the duration and conditions of precautionary suspensions for senior managers.”

Adv Kemi Behari’s suspension is an interim measure intended to ensure the integrity of ongoing internal processes, protect the interests of the municipality and uphold principles of good governance

—  Ekurhuleni spokesperson Phakamile Mbengashe

According to Ekurhuleni’s Phakamile Mbengashe, the decision to suspend Behari is not a finding of guilt, nor does it constitute disciplinary action.

“It is an interim measure intended to ensure the integrity of ongoing internal processes, protect the interests of the municipality and uphold principles of good governance,” he said.

“The city remains committed to fair, transparent and procedurally compliant governance practices. No further details will be provided at this stage as the matter is now the subject of an internal investigation.”

Sowetan