ANC councillor arrested for extortion

A Limpopo municipality could soon find itself going to another by-election in two months after the newly elected ward 30 councillor, Tobius Malope, was arrested for extortion.

Malope, the councillor under the Elias Motsoaledi local municipality in the Sekhukhune region, was arrested on Thursday in Rooissenekal, outside the mining town of Burgersfort in Limpopo.

His arrest was kept hush hush by those in his circle until the news came to light allegedly during drinking binges at the weekend.

He was arrested together with eight other people following allegations of extortion.

Known in ANC politics as aggressive, articulate and fearless, Malope allegedly led a group of thugs to a mining construction site on the R555 road where they demanded an undisclosed amount of cash from the contractor of a construction project.

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The suspects allegedly closed all roads leading to the mining construction site and swore they would not open the roads until the contractor gave them money. Out of fear, the owner of the construction company allegedly gave them the money but reported the matter to the police who apprehended the nine.

Malope was elected ward 30 ANC councillor on 11 December 2024, during a highly contested by-elections in Rooissenekal. He defeated contenders from political parties, EFF, uMkhonto weSizwe party, Bolscheviks, Movement for African Convention, Truth and Solidarity Movement and Sameba.

Sekhukhune ANC spokesperson Solomon Uwane said the party was very disappointed with the arrest. “Although one is innocent until proven guilty by the court of law, the ANC in Sekhukhune is burying its head in the sand. We did not expect this kind of behaviour from one of our own, let alone Malope because he was elected among the best to represent the best – the ANC.

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“The ANC in this region takes pride of its deployees in government and in communities which we serve.

“We don’t tolerate corruption or crime. We want all our councillors to pass the test of time and become role model in communities they lead. We, however, cannot tell if we will soon have another by-election in the Elias Motsoaledi local municipality anytime soon.

“We will still go through all procedural processes of the organisation, including disciplinary action and maybe dismissal,” Uwane said.

Limpopo police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Thakeng told The Citizen the accused would appear in the Nebo Magistrate’s Court on Monday on charges of extortion.

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