The assistant manager of expenditure at the Makhado Municipality, Mr James Sikhwari, was suspended with full pay by his municipal manager, Ms Faith Muthambi, last month.

The former chairperson of the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) in Limpopo Province received a two-page letter of suspension from Muthambi on October 19.

In the letter leaked to Mirror, Muthambi never indicated why she took a decision to suspend Sikhwari. According to the suspension letter, Sikhwari should be accessible and available at his residential address, in case the employer needs him.

When contacted to comment about his suspension, Sikhwari confirmed that he was served with a suspension letter with conditions that are making him feel like he is under house arrest, but he declined to comment further.

Mirror also learnt that Sikhwari has not yet been served with a charge sheet, nor has he been informed about the charges against him. "Muthambi cannot move Sikhwari, because he is a mountain. This is the man who hates to hide things under the carpet. Instead of implementing good governance, she is embarking on intimidating people to dance to her tune," said a member of Samwu, who wants to remain anonymous.

Municipal PRO Louis Bobodi confirmed that Sikhwari has been suspended. According to Bobodi, Sikhwari was suspended and was being investigated for "alleged misconduct". Bobodi said that a task team has been set up to investigate Sikhwari and it will complete its investigation as soon as possible. When asked if they had formulated charges against Sikhwari, Bobodi said: "We are still in the process of formulating charges and we are hoping to serve him with such charges once they are completed."