The DA in Tshwane wants proof that deputy mayor Eugene Modise lost two months’ salary. The party says it has seen no sign that the R200,000 penalty was ever carried out.
Council decided months ago that Modise must give up the money. He was found guilty of breaking the code of conduct for councillors.
The case is about his failure to declare a financial interest in Triotic Protection Services. The security company does business with the City of Tshwane.
Modise is the deputy mayor of Tshwane. He is also the member of the mayoral committee in charge of finance. Only two months remain in the current municipal term.
DA Tshwane finance spokesperson Jacqui Uys said the city should not let the council decision lapse. “A council resolution cannot simply be ignored when it concerns a senior political office bearer,” Uys said.
Uys said the DA wants confirmation that the salary has been docked. If it has not been docked, the party wants the city to do it immediately.
TimesLIVE asked the City of Tshwane whether the penalty had been carried out. Mayoral spokesperson Samkelo Mgobozi referred the questions to the office of the speaker or the chief whip. The speaker had not responded when TimesLIVE published its report.
Modise told TimesLIVE that the DA was trying to distract attention from the ANC’s election campaign. He said he had signed all the documents with the city’s human resources department. He said the matter was now out of his control.
Modise founded Triotic Protection Services. The company guarded more than 20 city sites, including substations, sports facilities and water treatment plants.
Triotic earned about R3 million a month from the municipality. It also rented office space in a property owned by Modise.
In October 2025, an internal investigation found Modise still benefited from Triotic after resigning as a director. A later forensic investigation recommended disciplinary action against him.
Modise said he sold his interest in the company after he became a councillor. The investigation found he had not produced a sale agreement or proof of payment.
Modise has denied any wrongdoing. He says he sold his shares under a payment agreement. He also says the property leased to Triotic did not bring him any financial benefit.
He previously told TimesLIVE that he left Triotic when he became a councillor. He also said the investigation had cleared him of corruption.
The DA says the case matters for fair contracting in the city. Uys said a failure to declare financial interests undermines fair contracting. She said it also puts chances for local businesses at risk.
The DA has said from the start that the penalty was too lenient. The party took the council decision to the Gauteng High Court. It wants stronger sanctions considered, including suspension or removal from office.
Uys also spoke about the city’s silence on the matter. “Despite the slap-on-the-wrist nature of the sanction, the ANC/ActionSA government in Tshwane has not given any indication that Modise’s salary has in fact been docked,” she said.
The DA wants the city to confirm the deduction before the current municipal term ends. If it has not happened, the party wants it done before then.
The case has already affected Modise’s political career. In May, he withdrew from the ANC’s race to be its Tshwane mayoral candidate over the controversy.
Source: this article is based on reporting by TimesLIVE. Image: TimesLIVE. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.