DEFIANT Vhembe District Mayor Tsakani Fredah Nkondo has vowed to ignore the Limpopo ANC’s instruction to resign or be recalled.

Nkondo confirmed to African Times that Provincial ANC secretary Reuben Madadzhe summoned her to the party’s Polokwane provincial headquarters, Frans Mohlala, and ordered her to vacate office or face the humiliation of being recalled as mayor.

She said Vhembe ANC top brass, regional chairperson Tshitereke Matibe and secretary Matodzi Ralushai, also conveyed the same message, but she declined. Her move is likely to spark a political showdown between the mayor and ANC top brass ahead of the elections and escalate tensions in the region.

The Vhembe District Municipality is slated to hold a council meeting on Friday, rumoured to elect a new executive mayor. Miyelani “Mabanana” Chauke, the party’s Vhembe regional deputy chairperson, is expected to take over as the district mayor. 

Nkondo, who took over as Executive Mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality in November 2024 after Dowelani Nenguda resigned, has reportedly faced increased political pressure in recent months due to fallout from the post-ANC regional and provincial elections. 

Demanding the reasons for removing her as mayor, barely two years after she was elected, Nkondo said the party should focus on the upcoming local government elections rather than make changes to municipal mayors. 

When asked about her future in the municipality, Nkondo confirmed there is a council meeting on Friday but stated that she will continue to serve as mayor. 

“I’m still the mayor until now. There must be processes when you remove a mayor. If they say I must resign. What wrong have I done ahead of election time? I was just elected not so long ago. I don’t have many years since I became the mayor.  I have not resigned, so there is no other mayor. I saw the notice of the meeting tomorrow, but I don’t have any information. I don’t know who called for that meeting. All I know is that I’m still the mayor for now. If someone forcefully removes me, it is fine,” Nkondo said.

She said she would disregard Madadzhe’s instruction, issued on Thursday, because the ANC had failed to give her reasons for removing her.

“I was asked to resign but I did not because I asked them to give me reasons for my resignation. For tomorrow, they will see how they hold the meeting. PEC secretary [Madadzhe], regional chairperson [Matibe] and secretary [Ralushai] told me that I must resign or I will be recalled. They said they are communicating the PEC decision. I was supposed to have written a resignation letter yesterday, but then I asked myself why I should be recalled, because they did not give me reasons. I said I will not resign until I was summoned to Frans Mohlala in Polokwane today [Thursday]. I was with the provincial secretary and told him to give me reasons for my recall. Why now, ahead of the local government elections? I will not resign, but for now, let’s see how the meeting unfolds,” Nkondo added. 

Nkondo is not the only ANC mayor in Limpopo facing the axe. African Times has learnt that Phetole Molapisane, the Mayor of the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, is also facing the same fate in the Mopani District. Former Mopani District Municipality spokesperson Odas Ngobeni is understood to be the frontrunner to succeed Molapisane. Ngobeni was recently elected as an ANC proportional representation councillor in the Tzaneen Municipality after another councillor suddenly resigned, fuelling speculation that he was destined to take over the mayoral chain of command.

Neville Ndlala, the spokesperson for the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, confirmed that the council will convene a special sitting tomorrow. However, he insisted that Molapisane remained the mayor. Ndala said they were aware of the rumours, but there was no agenda item dealing with the removal of the mayor.

“I mean, people have been talking the whole week. There’s no way that I have not seen it. It’s all over social media. But what I’m saying is that we only get involved once issues are brought to the municipality. Remember, the mayor is our political head. If he had resigned, I would know. 

“If there was an item to remove him, I would know. So as things stand, we don’t have an item on the removal of the mayor. There’s a number of items that we’re dealing with.

“I think one of them is the appalling remuneration of senior managers. There’s also a noting that I know of a councillor who has resigned and the appointment of another councillor as a replacement. So those are the things on the agenda. Once there’s something that we have on record, we’re able to speak on it,” Ndlala concluded.

Molapisane could not be reached for comment.