MK Party Moves to Lay Criminal Charges Against eThekwini Mayor and Manager Over Beach Closures

• The uMkhonto weSizwe has expressed frustration with eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba and Municipal Manager Musa Mbhele
• The MK Party took issue with the fact that four of the City's beaches were closed due to high E. coli levels in the water
• The party's Visvin Reddy noted how the City was no longer debt-free, blaming the current leadership of the municipality

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues. He spent 10 years working for a community newspaper before transitioning to online

KWAZULU-NATAL – The uMkhonto weSizwe plans to lay criminal charges against the City of eThekwini mayor and manager over the situation with the city’s beaches.

Four beaches were closed on Thursday, 18 December 2025, due to high E. coli levels in the water, according to the City's beach water quality report. eThekwini Beach, Country Club Beach and Battery Beach have since been reopened, but Blue Lagoon Beach remains closed.

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The beaches were closed after the Pietermaritzburg High Court ordered the municipality to deal with the sewage spill issues at numerous water bodies across the city. The City previously dismissed concerns about the water quality at some beaches.

MK Party expresses frustration with municipality management

As the situation continues to make headlines, the MK Party has announced that it will lay criminal charges against Mayor Cyril Xaba and Municipal Manager Musa Mbhele.

Visvin Reddy, an MK Party member who is a Water and Sanitation Portfolio committee member, expressed frustration with the way the city was being run, noting that the municipality claimed it would take billions to address the failing wastewater infrastructure, money it did not have.

“If you go to the Auditor General’s report, you will find that there are billions of rands in wasteful and fruitless expenditure,” he stated.

He added that Durban used to be debt-free before, but that was no longer the case. He added that the leadership had failed the City. The City of eThekwini is led by a coalition of the African National Congress (ANC), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the National Freedom Party (NFP).

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Reddy raises concerns about statues

He also raised concerns about the amount of money spent on two statues. The City has erected two nine-metre bronze statues of Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo. The statue of Tambo is erected along Durban’s beachfront, while Mandela’s is at the stadium precinct. Both are yet to be unveiled.

The statues have been billed as part of the City’s plans to “transform the heritage landscape” and boost tourism.

Reddy said the party also wanted the municipality to be placed under administration, but new this would not happen, because party interests were being protected.

Durban beaches were almost empty after E. coli scandal

Briefly News reported that some Durban beaches were surprisingly quiet despite it being the festive season.

The beaches were almost empty following several social media posts about E. coli-related infections at the City's beaches.

Many citizens expressed concern about the country’s tourism industry and were saddened by the decline in visitors and beachgoers.

Source: Briefly News