PRETORIA, Saturday 26 September 2026 — The City of Tshwane is facing calls to clarify whether a two-month salary sanction imposed on Deputy Mayor and Finance MMC Eugene Modise has been implemented, months after council approved the penalty for breaches of the councillors’ code of conduct.
The Democratic Alliance said on Friday that it had not received confirmation that the deduction, worth about R200,000, had been processed and called on the city to implement the council resolution before the current municipal term comes to an end.
Modise, however, says he has already completed the documentation required by the municipality and that the processing of the deduction is now outside his control.
The dispute centres on a council decision taken earlier this year after a municipal forensic investigation found that Modise had failed to disclose financial interests linked to Triotic Protection Services, a security company he founded before becoming a councillor.
Modise says he signed required documents
Speaking to TimesLIVE, Modise said he had signed all the necessary documents with the municipality’s human resources department.
He said what happened after that was no longer within his control.
Modise also accused the DA of using the issue as part of the political contest ahead of the local government elections.
The DA, meanwhile, wants the municipality to confirm whether the salary deduction has taken place.
DA Tshwane finance spokesperson Jacqui Uys said the council resolution could not be allowed to go unimplemented and called for the deduction to be processed if it had not already been made.
TimesLIVE approached the City of Tshwane for clarity on the status of the sanction. Mayor Nasiphi Moya’s spokesperson referred questions to the offices of the speaker and chief whip, saying those offices were better placed to respond on council processes involving councillors.
The speaker had not responded by the time the report was published on Friday.
Forensic investigation examined links to Triotic
The disciplinary process followed a forensic investigation into Modise’s financial relationship with Triotic Protection Services.
Modise founded Triotic in 2003 and later resigned as a director after becoming a councillor. He has maintained that he sold his interest in the company.
The investigation found, however, that Modise had not provided investigators with a written sale agreement or other documentary proof of the transaction.
It also found that Triotic rented office space from a property owned by Modise and that the rental income had not been declared in his financial disclosures.
The report concluded that his failure to disclose the business arrangement amounted to a material breach of the Municipal Systems Act and also raised concerns about undeclared immovable properties.
The investigation did not find wrongdoing or undue influence by Modise in the original awarding of the security contract to Triotic.
Modise has denied wrongdoing and has maintained that he sold the company after entering public office.
He has also disputed claims about the financial benefit he continued to receive from Triotic.
Triotic provides security services to Tshwane
Triotic has been contracted to provide guarding services at municipal facilities across Tshwane.
The company has provided security at more than 20 sites, including substations, sports facilities and water-treatment infrastructure.
TimesLIVE reported that the company was earning about R3 million a month from the municipality for its security services.
The financial relationship between Modise and the company became one of the central issues in the forensic investigation because Triotic continued leasing premises from him after he had ceased being a director.
The investigation found that this relationship should have been disclosed.
Council opted for two-month salary sanction
Following the forensic findings, Tshwane council established a multiparty ad hoc committee to consider what action should be taken against Modise.
The committee was later dissolved and council instead approved a financial sanction equivalent to two months of Modise’s salary.
EWN reported in May that the ANC, ActionSA and EFF used their council majority to support the penalty, while opposition parties called for stronger action.
ActionSA defended the decision at the time, arguing that the sanction was sufficient because the finding against Modise related to non-disclosure rather than criminal activity.
The Freedom Front Plus took a different position and called on Gauteng’s local government MEC to intervene, arguing that a financial penalty was insufficient under the applicable municipal legislation.
DA challenges sanction in court
The dispute over whether the salary deduction has been implemented is separate from a court challenge already launched by the DA over the sanction itself.
In July, the party approached the Gauteng High Court seeking a review of the council decision.
The DA wants the two-month salary penalty set aside and the matter returned to council for reconsideration, arguing that councillors should have considered stronger sanctions, including suspension or removal from office.
The party is therefore challenging the adequacy of the sanction while simultaneously calling for the existing council resolution to be implemented for as long as it remains in force.
Modise withdrew from ANC mayoral race
The controversy surrounding Modise also affected the ANC’s preparations for the 2026 local government elections.
In May, Modise asked to be excluded from consideration as the ANC’s Tshwane mayoral candidate.
Modise, who remains the ANC’s Tshwane regional chairperson, said at the time that he did not want the controversy surrounding him to damage the party’s election campaign.
He remains Tshwane’s deputy mayor and MMC for finance.
Election adds urgency to dispute
South Africans are due to vote in the local government elections on 4 November 2026, with Tshwane among the municipalities that will elect a new council. The election date has been confirmed by the Electoral Commission and the Presidency.
The approaching end of the current municipal term has placed renewed attention on the sanction against Modise.
While earlier reports described his salary as being docked following the council decision, the latest dispute concerns whether the municipality has actually processed that deduction.
The DA says it has not received confirmation that this has happened.
Modise says he has fulfilled the administrative requirements expected of him by signing the relevant HR documentation.
The City of Tshwane had not publicly confirmed by Friday whether the deduction had already been processed or remained outstanding.
The question of implementation therefore remains unresolved as Tshwane enters the final weeks before the 4 November municipal elections.
