Political parties were quick to call for the suspension of City of Cape Town councillors JP Smith and Xanthea Limberg, both from the Democratic Alliance (DA), following a police raid on Friday, 24 January 2025.
The police confirmed the raid, but did not provide the names of the implicated parties. However, after the news broke of the raid, Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis (DA) revealed in a statement that the offices of Smith and Limberg, two longtime councillors, were raided.
On Friday, Hill-Lewis said the pair have informed him that “they’ve offered full cooperation to the SAPS but have not been made aware of the specific allegations at this stage”.
He said he has requested an “urgent briefing” from the South African Police Service (SAPS) to “understand the details of this matter and will determine the necessary further actions once this has been received”.
Smith is the city’s longtime mayoral committee member for safety and security and Limberg serves as the mayoral committee member for energy.
Smith is also the DA’s metro chairperson, as reported by Daily Maverick in October 2023.
African National Congress (ANC) Western Cape provincial spokesperson Khalid Sayed told Daily Maverick on Friday that the party has called on the mayor to suspend the pair “pending further investigation” as was the case when former councillor Malusi Booi’s offices were raided by SAPS.
Sayed told Daily Maverick the ANC welcomed the transparency of the raids. He said the party has repeatedly warned of Smith being “untouchable” when oversight was being conducted on local government, particularly in his department.
‘No one has been arrested’, says SAPS
SAPS Western Cape spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said on Friday the raids were in relation to “tender fraud in the construction sector within the City of Cape Town municipality”.
In a statement, Traut said: “Their presence is part of forensic investigations which emanate from a case that is running before courts. Several municipal officials and business owners are facing a myriad of charges that relate to the same investigation.”
He said whether the investigation by the commercial crimes detective team would lead to arrests remained to be seen. “As of now, no one has been arrested. Suffice to indicate, the team requests space to conduct its investigation. Speculation about who the investigation is directed at, seizure of items and possible arrests would be premature at this point.”
Right now, Traut said the focus is presenting a strong case before the courts. “It would be out of norm for SAPS investigators to discuss pertinent details of their investigations,” he said.
Famously, former human settlements mayoral committee member, Malusi Booi, was suspended and then fired in 2023 after links emerged between him and alleged gang boss Ralph Stanfield.
As Daily Maverick reported, Booi was arrested in September 2024 in a crackdown related to a major construction tender investigation linked to the 28s gang.
Read more: Ex-Cape Town mayco member Malusi Booi arrested in ‘major probe linked to 28s gang, construction tenders’
The GOOD party’s Brett Herron – a former councillor in the city and fellow mayoral committee member alongside the duo while he was a DA member – said on Friday the pair should be suspended as was the case with Booi.
“Hill-Lewis has a duty to share with the public what they are under investigation for and when he became aware,” Herron said. “The personal relationship between Smith and Limberg only adds more fuel and speculation to an unexplained fire,” he added.
“Hill-Lewis must also explain whether Smith and Limberg will be suspended, as he did with Booi, and removed from their offices,” he said. “If the investigation involves City matters or corruption, then they cannot be in office … their continued presence could impede the investigation or at least give the perception of being in a position to impede.”
Hill-Lewis said: “In the earlier matter relating to Malusi Booi, I was offered and given a full briefing by SAPS, and have requested the same courtesy be extended to me in this matter as soon as possible.”
‘Political hit squad’
In response to the raid, Smith posted a lengthy statement outlining that he had been “tipped off” that some “political actors” have been working on a smear campaign targeted at him – and mobilised a “political ‘hit-squad’ against me”. Smith claimed he had been alerted to this some months back.
He claimed to have been informed that “senior ANC politicians have been briefed by members within SAPS”.
“In addition, a concerned person has sent me recordings of conversations that, even just at face value, reveals a political conspiracy against me by political office bearers, a private security company and possibly that of members within SAPS. [It is] yet undetermined at this stage if these are past employees or still serving within SAPS still today,” Smith said.
He said the search of his office appeared to be a “calculated element of the proposed attack, not to find something that should hopefully implicate me in any way, but simply because they know it will create an opening through which they can drip the slow poison of doubt over me, along with unsubstantiated allegations intended to be drawn over a long period, for maximum effect”.
Meanwhile, a statement by DA Western Cape leader Tertuis Simmers and his deputy, Hill-Lewis, said they would hold back on a “comprehensive statement” until facts, context and investigation details were “better known … however, we are aware that no arrests have been made”. DM
This is a developing story and will be updated.