Watched, Excluded, Truth: Foucault and the Limpopo Municipality

The research examines a period of extreme instability in the Mogalakwena Local Municipality following the violent return of ousted mayor Tlhalefi Mashamaite in November 2014. Using a Foucauldian framework, the author argues that the new leadership employed 'regimes of visibility, exclusion, and truth' to discipline and co-opt municipal officials who had been loyal to the previous municipal manager, Willy Kekana. The study details how techniques such as strategic surveillance, irregular HR practices, and forced public narratives were used to create a toxic environment of fear and uncertainty, effectively subjugating the professional bureaucracy to the new political regime.

• The return of ousted mayor Tlhalefi Mashamaite in November 2014 was marked by violence and brutality, involving the South African Police Service (SAPS) using tear gas and rubber bullets to forcibly expel employees and security guards loyal to municipal manager Willy Kekana.
• The ruling power established a 'regime of exclusion' by physically barring striking officials from their offices under the pretext of needing to be 'reregistered inside the system,' forcing them to wait in the sun to assert their subordinate status.
• Institutional exclusion was further enforced through the manipulation of human resources, including the strategic bypassing of HR managers in recruitment, the use of irregular appointment processes, and the systematic alienation of experienced staff.
• A 'regime of visibility' was implemented to intimidate bureaucrats, featuring the deployment of 27 municipality-paid bodyguards and the strategic placement of observers in corridors to monitor officials' interactions and movements.
• The leadership imposed a 'regime of truth' that coerced officials into publicly adopting narratives that legitimized the new power structure and expressed regret for striking, regardless of their private beliefs, as a means of professional survival.
• The combination of surveillance, exclusion, and forced narratives created a toxic working environment characterized by profound fear, mistrust, and a 'culture of silence' that diminished employee motivation and professional functionality.

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} }