Three councillors — one from Lephalale, one from the Waterberg District Municipality and one from Bela-Bela — have been requested to take a leave of absence after they were implicated in criminal activities, according to a statement by Matomi Moremi-Taueatsoala, ANC regional spokesperson.
All three were formally charged by the police and until their court cases are finalised they have no choice but to remain on the sideline and await the investigations outcome, said Moremi.
According to the statement, the councillors are: a councillor from Lephalale whose identity is still to be confirmed who was charged of gross bodily harm to another person, Petrus Aphane from Bela-Bela was charged for public violence and Sam Montane (Waterberg) was charged for gender based-related violence.
“The ANC in the Waterberg views these allegations in a very serious light. The transgression of the ANC’s code of conduct will not be tolerated. Individuals who are charged with misconduct cannot continue to represent the organisation. The ANC in the Waterberg cannot be complicit to such serious charges, particularly in the wake of the heightened awareness and continuous fight against gender based violence (GBV) and child abuse,” said Moremi.
Moremi said during the ANC’s 54th Conference, the resolution was taken that any member charged with a serious crime must immediately step aside from all leadership positions within the ANC and refrain from attending any political activities, legislature meetings and governing structures pending the outcome of their court cases.
Moremi told The Post that these drastic steps are necessary to protect the image of the ANC-leadership and the values of the party.
“Allegations and charges on these serious matters cannot simply be swept under a carpet, they have to be addressed and culprits must be prosecuted.” “Pres. Cyril Ramaphosa stated that all role players must be held responsible for their actions. Since we are merely months away from municipal elections we must ensure that our candidates and representatives can stand meticulous scrutiny and meet the minimum criteria to rely on the local communities to vote for their preferred candidates,” said Moremi.
“Interviews will be conducted with prospective candidates, but in the event of a candidate having a criminal record they will have to adhere to scrutiny of the ethics committee. Allegations or charges against a candidate can only be expunged by a court.”
It is up to the institution (the local municipality or legislature) to determine whether the accused councillor should be suspended without pay or not, said Moremi. He couldn’t provide details on the status of each of the three councillor’s suspension.
- The Post lodged enquiries with the Bela-Bela police, as well as the court regarding Aphane’s case. A case of public violence was indeed brought against Aphane after an incident earlier this year in the Rust de Winter area, the police confirmed. Other people were also charged on the same incident. After investigation Aphane was brought in for questioning and charged for public violence, however according to the police and court records Aphane never appeared in court on the charges. During the court appearance at the end of September, the charges were withdrawn against one of the other accused, Esther Mapula Madlelo. Aphane’s name does not appear on the records. According to Capt. Annemarie Smith, detective commander at the Bela-Bela police, it appears that the charge against Aphane has been withdrawn.
