Musa Mbhele, the eThekwini city manager fires back, saying his detractors must prove their sexual claims.

Musa Mbhele, the beleaguered eThekwini city manager, has denied claims that he has sought sexual favours in exchange for jobs at the only metro in KwaZulu-Natal.

He says the assertions are part of a concerted campaign to tarnish his image. 

“People have created this monster that has a libido on steroids he cannot control. They want to create an impression that people’s wives are not safe whenever they go on overseas trips with me. 

“Whenever I employ any female, people say I’ve slept with them. I’m a married man with a wife and kids. The emotional scars inflicted on me because of these unsubstantiated claims is unexplainable,” Mbhele said.

He was answering questions during a public engagement, dubbed “The Moment of Truth”, with various stakeholders. Xubera Institute in Hillcrest, outside Durban, organised the event.

The allegations of sexual misconduct against Mbhele have been swirling for a long time. Labour unions and opposition parties in the metro have called for him to step aside while the investigation is being conducted. 

“Every time a beautiful woman is hired, people claim she has a relationship with me. But nobody has come forward with evidence,” Mbhele said.

Siyabonga Xulu, a KwaZulu-Natal businessman who owns Solbeth Security Services, said the metro owed him millions of rand for the surveillance and risk management he had conducted. The contract was valid for 24 months.

Mbhele said that because he had refused to pay up for an “invalid contract”, Xulu had sought to defame him in an effort to coerce him to release the payments. 

He said Xulu had no valid contract with the metro and that when he (Xulu) had failed to prove the existence of a contractual agreement, he had resorted to blackmail.

“He claimed that he had a video of me having sex in the office but failed to produce this. Anyone with evidence must go to the police and open a case, instead of grandstanding. We’re not going to pay him. 

“He also claims to have tapped all phones of senior managers and the executive. The state security must look into this because I don’t think it’s lawful,” Mbhele said. 

Other claims leveled against Mbhele were that he was involved in a plot to assassinate  former City Integrity and Investigation Unit head Mbuso Ngcobo. 

Mbhele has denied the allegations. 

Ngcobo is the chief whistleblower who investigated the R320 million Durban Solid Waste contract that was allegedly awarded fraudulently to hand-picked contractors. The contract is the subject of a court case. Among the implicated high-profile personalities is former ANC eThekwini region chairperson and ex-mayor Zandile Gumede. This matter also includes former city manager Bonga Nzuza and other senior municipal executives.

Xulu has stuck to his guns, saying he had entered into a legal contract with the metro to provide, among other services, intelligence capability. 

“I was duly appointed to conduct risk, evaluation and assessment. I was paid nine times by the metro to prove there was an existing agreement between us and the city,” Xulu stated.