Congress of the People (Cope) Gauteng chairperson Tom Mofokeng and deputy secretary Johnny Mokome have accused the party's deputy president Willie Madisha and national spokesperson Dennis Bloem of protecting embattled former Tshwane mayor Murunwa Makwarela.

Mofokeng, who called a media briefing on Monday morning at Cope's Gauteng offices in Johannesburg, said the party in the province alerted national party leaders of Makwarela's insolvency, but no action was ever taken.

He added that instead, Bloem and Madisha protected Makwarela.

Mofokeng claimed that Cope members were not properly vetted, given the short time the party had to conduct this process leading up to the 2021 municipal elections.

"People such as Dennis Bloem and the deputy president William Madisha have made it a habit to meddle in the province's affairs. They are the ones who have been protecting Makwarela.

"We alerted the national leadership to the fact that because of time [constraints]... some could have fallen through the cracks in terms of vetting, given the short time we had leading up to the local government elections," added Mofokeng.

He said Makwarela had given a false declaration to Cope, stating that he was not insolvent.

"This was not the only false declaration that Dr Makwarela made. We have noted that Makwarela was accused of sexual harassment in the City of Johannesburg's fresh produce market. We were still waiting for a final report from the Tshwane Municipal Council when the allegations of insolvency surfaced," Mofokeng.

Following a meeting on Saturday, Cope's Gauteng leaders resolved to ask its national leaders to "finalise the suspension of Bloem and Madisha and allow the province to lay criminal charges against Makwarela".

Mofokeng said because he had not sent a resignation letter to Cope in Gauteng, disciplinary steps would be taken against Makwarela.

Makwarela was elected Tshwane mayor two weeks ago after the resignation of Randall Williams last month. He defeated the DA's mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink by 11 votes after receiving 112 votes compared to Brink's 101. This came after he joined forces with an ANC-EFF-led coalition.

Mofokeng said Makwarela negotiated with the coalition without the approval of Cope in Gauteng.

Just a week later, Tshwane city manager Johann Mettler declared that there was a vacancy for the Tshwane mayoral position after the Electoral Commission of SA stated that Makwarela was an unrehabilitated insolvent and should not have been elected.

Makwarela was accused of being dishonest about his financial status. He later submitted an insolvency rehabilitation certificate, only to later resign after the letter was declared as being fake.

Cope's Gauteng leaders said they would not be announcing Makwarela's replacement until they had identified a suitable candidate and vetted them properly.

News24 was unable to get comment from Makwarela.

Bloem denied allegations that he had protected the embattled former mayor, saying that Mofokeng recruited the former ANC member into Cope's ranks.

Mofokeng said Makwarela joined Cope from the ANC in 2021 but that he did so of his own accord.

Despite numerous attempts, News24 was unable to get comment from Madisha.