Yarra Greens councillors reject no confidence motion in councillor Anab Mohamud who’s facing criminal charges

A councillor accused of bashing a trans woman in a savage nightclub attack has come under fire on her return to work, but she has refused to discuss her upcoming court case.

City of Yarra councillor Anab Mohamud is due to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in November.

An inner city Greens councillor has refused to discuss criminal charges against her in a fiery council meeting.

City of Yarra councillor Anab Mohamud faces counts of assault, offensive behaviour and public drunkenness after a confrontation near Chasers nightclub in April.

She is due to face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in November, accused of bashing a trans woman while drunk, while Ms Mohamud also was injured.

But a bid to have Ms Mohamud take a leave of absence until the legal matters are finalised was voted down by Greens councillors at Tuesday night’s meeting.

Ms Mohamud wore sunglasses during the council meeting.

Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston has called on Ms Mohamud to resign.

Independent councillor Herschel Landes had put a motion expressing no confidence in Ms Mohamud, saying she should have told the council about the charges before they were reported in the media.

“She doesn’t have to prejudice herself in terms of what happened, but there is a public interest in the fact that she has been charged, and I think she had a duty of care to disclose that particular fact,” he said.

Ms Mohamud, who wore sunglasses in the online meeting and appeared agitated at times, said: “If it was up to me I would love to talk about everything.”

“But I respect the law and I respect that justice will take its course, and so should we all.”

Ratepayers Victoria president Dean Hurlston said that while Ms Mohamud was innocent until proven guilty, she should resign because the council had been brought into disrepute.

“This has clearly brought the city of Yarra, regrettably, incredible embarrassment and reputational damage,” he told the meeting.

“For the Greens Party, this is a blight on your first majority.”

Greens councillor and former mayor Amanda Stone accused those supporting the motion of insinuating Ms Mohamud’s guilt.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves doing this in a public forum,” she said.

Ms Stone said that if a councillor was charged and convicted there was a disciplinary process that could be followed under local government laws.

The council voted 4-3 to reject Mr Landes’s motion, with Ms Mohamud not voting.

Adam Promnitz, from the Yarra Residents Collective, accused the majority Greens council of being dysfunctional in leadership.

“It was beyond the pale for the Greens councillors to attack members of the public who made submissions,” he said.

“The vote showed once again that these Greens councillors put their personal and party agenda well before the community.”

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