Watched, Excluded, Truth: Foucault and the Limpopo Municipality

This research paper applies Michel Foucault's 'micro-physics' of power to analyze the internal workings of the Mogalakwena Local Municipality in South Africa during a period of intense political conflict between 2014 and 2015. The author examines how an ousted mayor, Tlhalefi Mashamaite, used regimes of visibility, exclusion, and truth to discipline municipal bureaucrats and consolidate power following a violent return to office.

• Between November 2014 and June 2015, the Mogalakwena Local Municipality experienced acute instability following the return of ousted mayor Tlhalefi Mashamaite, who seized the municipal buildings with police and private security. This event involved the use of "tear gas and rubber bullets to forcibly expel employees", leading to a strike by 160 officials who operated from a neighboring library for over 90 days.
• The ruling power established a 'regime of exclusion' to subjugate striking officials. This included denying them access to offices under the pretext of needing to be "reregistered ‘inside the system’", forcing them to wait outside in the sun to signal their low status. Exclusion also manifested as the systematic alienation of experienced staff, such as an HR manager whose core functions were taken away and who was excluded from recruitment and shortlisting processes.
• A 'regime of visibility' was implemented to intimidate bureaucrats and monitor their associations. This was achieved through the presence of 27 municipality-paid bodyguards and the strategic placement of a man in a corridor to watch officials in the Finance Department. This created a 'Panopticon' effect where officials, feeling watched, avoided speaking to one another, leading to a "culture of silence".
• The administration enforced a 'regime of truth' where officials were coerced into publicly adopting narratives that legitimized the new leadership to ensure their professional survival. Some officials described the strike as a "little speed bump" in public meetings while privately admitting to researchers that the instability had caused "huge damage" to the administration.
• The political conflict within the municipality was a localized manifestation of a larger struggle between regional and provincial factions of the African National Congress (ANC). This dispute centered on the appointment of municipal manager Willy Kekana and resulted in the municipal council and the ANC being split into pro-Kekana and pro-Mashamaite factions.

APA

Lesaffre, T. (2020). Watched, Excluded, Truth: Foucault and the Limpopo Municipality. Public Affairs Research Institute. https://pari.org.za/watched-excluded-truth-foucault-limpopo-municipality/

Chicago

Lesaffre, Thomas. Watched, Excluded, Truth: Foucault and the Limpopo Municipality. Public Affairs Research Institute, 2020. https://pari.org.za/watched-excluded-truth-foucault-limpopo-municipality/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lesaffre |first1=Thomas |title=Watched, Excluded, Truth: Foucault and the Limpopo Municipality |publisher=Public Affairs Research Institute |date=9 October 2020 |url=https://pari.org.za/watched-excluded-truth-foucault-limpopo-municipality/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lesaffre2020watched, author = {Lesaffre, Thomas}, title = {{Watched, Excluded, Truth: Foucault and the Limpopo Municipality}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://pari.org.za/watched-excluded-truth-foucault-limpopo-municipality/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }