Former president Jacob Zuma was spotted at the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Monday.
Senior ANC councillors and municipal officials who spoke to The Witness said they did not know what the meeting Zuma supposedly had with the city’s top officials was about as it was kept a secret.
Zuma’s convoy arrived at the City Hall escorted by Msunduzi traffic officers just after 10 am, and left after lunch time.
Security officers attached to Zuma were seen roaming around the corridors of the City Hall and the parking lot while Zuma held a meeting behind closed doors. Certain parts of the parking lot were restricted for the duration of the meeting.
Although sources claimed the closed-door meeting had been attended by mayor Themba Njilo and deputy mayor Thobani Zuma, Njilo flatly denied that he was part of the meeting.
“Ask the deputy mayor about the meeting, I was not there. I was in Durban,” said Njilo when asked about the meeting.
Municipal spokesperson Ntobeko Ngcobo referred all queries to the municipal political office, which did not respond by the time of going to press.
Attempts to get comment from deputy mayor Zuma were unsuccessful.
A source in the ANC said he believed that Zuma had been here to drum up support for the annual celebration of the AmaNxamalala Trust.
The annual event, which is held in Impendle, is an annual Zuma clan gathering to celebrate their founder, Inkosi Matomela.