The pressure group Action Society is requesting that the 36-year-old ANC councillor of Alexandra steps down following his arrest on 1 January 2021 for allegedly raping a 28-year-old woman on Boxing Day.
Apparently, ANC members in Gauteng are at each other’s throats following this incident. The suspect, who in terms of the Sexual Offences Act cannot be named until he pleads to the charge, is believed to be a strong Jacob Zuma supporter and former ANC Youth League leader in the metro. He made his first appearance in court today following allegations made against him by a Tembisa-based complainant who apparently is his girlfriend.
As the leader party in South Africa Action Society is concerned about the mix messages from the ANC following the incident.
While Dada Morero, the ANC secretary of the greater Johannesburg region, is disgusted and outraged, other ANC members were celebrating outside Alexandra magistrate court after the accused was granted bail of R2,000.
“This was by no means an incident to celebrate. The support the suspect is getting from the ANC disgust us. As an organisation giving a voice to the voiceless we request Bheki Cele to make an example of this ‘leader’ by punishing him for his crime accordingly,” says Daleen Gouws, spokesperson of Action Society.
Action Society is still concerned about Minister Bheki Cele’s silence regarding the DNA backlog. Earlier he announced a 16,8% decline in rape and sexual assault crimes. The immense problem of a 7% sex crime conviction rate and DNA backlog of 117,736 samples are not mentioned by the minister at all.
“If the minister was serious about justice and specifically gender-based violence (GBV), a plan to address these problems would have been structured by now,” Gouws concluded.
ISSUED BY: Action Society
DATE: 4 January 2021
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Daleen Gouws
Spokesperson: Action Society
Cell: 0812338351
