The suspended city manager of Nelson Mandela Bay, Noxolo Nqwazi, returns to the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha on Wednesday to continue her attempt to get her job back.

However, Executive Mayor Gary van Niekerk said not only do they not want her back in council, but he claims Nqwazi has "no leg to stand on" in court.

Nqwazi approached this court last month following her suspension in an emergency council meeting in September.

She claims her suspension was "irregular and unfair" and the decision was taken "for ulterior, political motives".

She also requested that her suspension be declared invalid and set aside.

The matter was supposed to be heard in court on Tuesday but was postponed to Wednesday for arguments because the court roll was full.

Nqwazi is on trial in the Gqeberha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on fraud and corruption charges.

The charges stem from her alleged involvement in a toilet tender worth more than R24 million, fraudulently awarded by the municipality a few years ago.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana highlighted her removal as one of the conditions to disburse more than R700-million in equitable share grant funding owed to the municipality since July.

The funds have since been paid to the city.

Van Niekerk said Nqwazi is not opposing the merits of the allegations against her, only the processes followed when she was suspended.

Therefore, she had "no leg to stand on" because there was nothing wrong with the process, according to him.

He explained that even if problems are found with the process, the council can suspend Nqwazi again.

"This [court bid] is just a waste of time. There were 62 councillors who voted to suspend her, so the reality is that the majority of [the] council wanted to suspend her. This is not because of anything personal, but the reality is that there are serious allegations against her."

He explained that the council has a right to suspend Nqwazi again if it comes down to that decision.

"The court has not requested that the suspension be stopped from ever happening again. Apart from the court papers, the disciplinary process will continue."

Van Niekerk said Nqwazi's lawyers would argue in court that this was an urgent matter, and his lawyers would oppose that.

"Our feeling is that there is no urgency involved. For there to be urgency, there must be prejudice. But since she is suspended with full pay, there is no prejudice," he explained.

"If the court finds there is urgency, we will argue the merits of the case and why the suspension process was not flawed.

"We have submitted full responses to the court. The mayor's office and council will not take this lying down."

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Zolile Williams's spokesperson, Pheello Oliphant, said Nqwazi has a right to resort to the courts to have her matter ventilated and adjudicated.

"The court is an appropriate arbiter entrusted with the responsibility to settle labour disputes," he said.