Integrity Forensic Solutions (IFS), a private forensic investigation firm, has filed an urgent application in the High Court seeking to review and set aside a controversial decision by the eThekwini Municipality’s Executive Committee (EXCO). The decision, taken in May and June 2025, halted investigations into multiple complaints of financial misconduct within the municipality.
The court papers allege the city is actively shielding officials from scrutiny. In a sworn affidavit, IFS points a finger directly at City Manager Musa Mbhele, accusing him of influencing EXCO to make the decision not to probe the allegations of irregularities.
This legal action brings the embattled municipality back into the spotlight, closely tied to a previous major scandal. IFS served on the panel that investigated a R320-million solid waste management contract, an investigation that ultimately led to the arrest of former Mayor Zandile Gumede and 21 others on charges of fraud and corruption. That trial is still ongoing.
IFS’s court application reveals a deeper conflict with the city. The firm alleges that eThekwini terminated its contracts abruptly just before the Gumede trial began. IFS argues this was a deliberate act to remove them from the picture, stating, “This act seems to have been orchestrated to protect people who could have been implicated in the trial by terminating IFS’s contract. They are no longer available to testify for the state.”
Furthermore, the firm claims the subsequent tender process to appoint a replacement forensic company was “flawed” and that the prices were inflated.
The application also seeks an order against the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), compelling it to intervene due to the municipality’s failure to investigate the financial irregularities itself.
The 25 parties listed as respondents, which include the municipality, City Manager Musa Mbhele, and EXCO members, have been given ten days to notify the court if they intend to oppose the application.
