Deputy Executive Mayor Eugene Modise’s undisclosed financial ties to Triotic Protection Services, a company that has received millions of rands in contracts from the City of Tshwane, are now the subject of a High Court challenge filed by the Democratic Alliance against the Gauteng High Court.
The DA’s legal action targets a Council decision that imposed only a financial penalty on Modise after a forensic investigation, commissioned by Tshwane itself, confirmed he had breached the Councillors’ Code of Conduct by failing to disclose those financial interests. The party argues the penalty is wholly insufficient and is seeking a court order to set aside the Council’s decision and remit the matter for reconsideration under what it describes as the correct legal framework, one that would compel Modise to face the full weight of disciplinary action.
At the operational core of the dispute is Modise’s role as MMC for Finance. The DA contends that a politician responsible for overseeing municipal finances cannot maintain undisclosed financial interests in companies doing business with the municipality. During his tenure, spending on security watchman services escalated into hundreds of millions of rands, the same period in which those financial interests remained hidden from public view. The party argues this convergence raises serious questions about whether the financial oversight function was compromised.
The forensic investigation that uncovered the breach was Tshwane’s own. That detail matters. The municipality’s internal process established the violation, yet the ANC-ActionSA-EFF coalition voted to limit the consequences to a fine. The DA’s filing contests both the lawfulness and the rationality of that outcome.
Meanwhile, the DA’s court papers take direct aim at the political coalition that protected Modise. The party contends that the ANC and ActionSA voted to shield the Deputy Mayor to protect a member of their own political ranks rather than enforce accountability standards. The DA characterises ActionSA’s role in the coalition vote as propping up misconduct that residents of Tshwane have experienced repeatedly, and uses the outcome to argue that ActionSA condones what it describes as ANC lawlessness and rule-breaking.
The broader governance concern the DA raises is about precedent. Allowing a confirmed breach of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct to pass with only a financial penalty, the party argues, signals that the code is optional rather than binding. That framing shifts the stakes beyond Modise personally: it positions the High Court application as a test of whether the legal framework governing elected officials’ conduct is enforceable at all.
With the Council’s internal process exhausted and the political coalition having voted to limit consequences, the DA has determined that judicial intervention is the only remaining mechanism. The party has committed to providing updates as the case proceeds. Further detail on the application is available at https://www.da.org.za/2026/07/da-files-court-papers-to-stop-tshwanes-tenderpreneur-deputy-mayor.
The High Court’s ruling will determine whether Modise faces additional disciplinary measures or whether the Council’s decision stands as the final administrative word on the matter, and with it, what standard of accountability applies to elected officials managing municipal finances in Tshwane.