PRETORIA, Monday 7 September 2026 — The ANC in Tshwane has formally lodged a complaint with the Office of the Public Protector over allegations concerning upgrades to Executive Mayor Nasiphi Moya’s private properties, escalating a pre-election dispute that ActionSA says is based on unsupported claims.
The complaint was filed last week and concerns work allegedly carried out at Moya’s residences in Pretoria East and the Eastern Cape, The Citizen reported on Monday morning. ANC Tshwane chairperson Kgoši Maepa said the party wanted the Public Protector to examine the circumstances around the work and the source of the payments.
The ANC alleges that upgrades included a swimming pool, paving, painting, security fencing and cameras.
Those claims remain allegations. No finding of wrongdoing has been made against Moya, and the Public Protector has not publicly announced the opening or outcome of an investigation.
Moya has previously denied that a City of Tshwane contractor paid for or carried out work at her home.
In a statement issued on 14 August, she said Tlopo Construction, a company reported to have done business with the city, had not worked on her property. She said a swimming pool was built in early 2025 and separate paving work was done more than a year later by another contractor, with both projects paid for privately.
“All work at my private residence was contracted in my private capacity and paid for from my own funds,” Moya said at the time.
The ANC says that denial is insufficient and has called on the mayor to release quotations, invoices and proof of payment relating to the work.
Maepa told The Citizen that the party had repeatedly sought answers since July and August and believed the issue should now be tested by a constitutionally recognised oversight body rather than left as a political dispute.
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont rejected the ANC’s latest move, saying the complaint did not provide evidence of misconduct.
He said the original allegation centred on whether Tlopo Construction had worked at Moya’s residence and maintained that ActionSA had seen documentation showing that the contractor was not involved.
ActionSA has itself already taken the dispute into the electoral regulatory process.
On 26 August, the party lodged a complaint with the Electoral Commission against Maepa, accusing him of spreading disinformation about Moya and saying it also intended to pursue criminal charges under the Municipal Electoral Act.
Those claims are ActionSA’s allegations and have not been adjudicated by the IEC.
The competing complaints turn what began as allegations about private building work into a broader institutional dispute involving both the Public Protector and the Electoral Commission.
That is politically significant because Moya is not only Tshwane’s incumbent mayor but also ActionSA’s mayoral candidate for the 4 November local government elections.
ActionSA formally launched its Tshwane election posters on 1 September under a campaign seeking another term for Moya.
Tshwane is expected to be one of the most closely contested metropolitan councils in the election.
The city is currently governed through a multiparty arrangement led by ActionSA, after former DA mayor Cilliers Brink was removed through a motion of no confidence in 2024.
The DA has again selected Brink as its mayoral candidate, while the EFF is backing treasurer-general Omphile Maotwe.
The ANC is still finalising its own Tshwane mayoral choice from a shortlist that includes Kgoši Maepa, Aaron Maluleka, Chana Pilane-Majake, Tlangi Mogale, Patience Moropa and Phumeza Mangcu.
That gives the dispute an additional political dimension: Maepa is both a senior ANC figure advancing the complaint and one of the people under consideration to lead the party’s own mayoral campaign.
The ANC and ActionSA therefore have a direct electoral interest in how the allegations are perceived.
For that reason, the distinction between allegation and finding is particularly important.
The ANC has not established that municipal money or a municipal contractor funded Moya’s private upgrades.
Moya, meanwhile, has said documentation exists supporting her account but has resisted what she described as an open-ended examination of her personal finances based on claims she says are false.
A Public Protector process could provide a more formal mechanism for testing the competing accounts if the office accepts the complaint for investigation.
The Public Protector has not yet publicly indicated whether it will investigate, what exact allegations would fall within its jurisdiction, or whether further information has been requested from the ANC or Moya.
Until then, the political position remains contested.
The ANC says Moya should produce documentary proof that she privately funded the work.
ActionSA says the allegations lack evidence and form part of an election-period attempt to damage its candidate.
The next material development will be whether the Public Protector formally confirms an investigation, seeks information from the mayor or closes the complaint without further action.
With fewer than two months remaining before 4 November 2026, any formal finding — or lack of one — could become significant in a Tshwane race where governance and anti-corruption claims are already central to the campaigns of several parties.
