ANC North West suspends councillor for alleged rape of 15-year-old girl

The African National Congress (ANC) in North West announced the suspension of a councillor after he was accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in 2019, IOL reported.

ANC’s North West interim provincial committee (IPC) coordinator Hlomani Chauke said the committee condemned and was shocked with the allegations against the councillor.

“These allegations against our public representative are abhorrent and antithetical to the values of the ANC. Consequently, the ANC IPC through its officials resolved that these allegations warrant appropriate disciplinary action,” he said.

Chauke confirmed the decision of suspending the councillor with immediate effect and added that the committee was waiting on the outcome of disciplinary proceedings after being also internally charged for disregarding the ANC’s image.

The councillor, who worked for the Matlosana Municipality, was reportedly released on bail amounting to R2,000 as he appeared at the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday after he handed himself over to the police the day before.

It was confirmed that the case had been postponed to 18 August.

The North West’s South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone Mokgwabone said the councillor allegedly raped the 15-year-old the girl between April and August 2019 in Tigane, Hartbeesfontein despite the incident being reported on 30 April.

The South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) in the North West chairperson Paul Sebegoe condemned the incident.

“The councillor’s actions are despicable and we condemned them. This highlights the matter of increasing gender-based violence in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Sebegoe said the councillors should be fighting gender-based violence and protecting children against abuse instead of being the perpetrators of such actions.

“Bail has to be opposed along with harsh sentences and no parole for people who carry out actions like this in the fight against gender-based violence and child abuse,” he said.

Sonke Gender Justice launched a new campaign to encourage people to speak out against gender-based violence in their communities, following a surge in domestic violence during the Covid-19 lockdown.

READ NEXT: Sonke launches #SPEAKOUT campaign to stem gender-based violence during lockdown.

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android