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An ANC councilor has been arrested for alleged rape.
- One of the ANC councilors in Johannesburg has been arrested for allegedly raping a woman.
- Party leaders in the region say that no one should wear the ANC insignia when attending court to support it.
- The ANC ruled at its last national conference that anyone accused of a serious crime should resign.
The ANC in Johannesburg has urged party members not to wear party clothing in court on Monday when one of its councilors appears charged with rape.
The councilman, who has not been identified because he has not appeared in court or pleaded guilty, was arrested over the weekend.
ANC regional secretary Dada Morero said in a statement that the party called on members to “dissociate [from] anyone who is an alleged perpetrator [of] gender violence “.
“No one who goes to court to support the alleged perpetrator should wear ANC insignia. Our thing is to support the victim until justice is served,” Morero said.
He said the party would decide what additional measures should be taken against the councilor.
“The ANC refuses to be complicit in the dehumanization and abuse of women,” Morero added. “We reject with absolute contempt the greater marginalization and violence imposed [to] woman. A woman’s body is not a playground, nor is it a crime scene. “
Added:
“The ANC supports the victim and calls on law enforcement agencies to ensure that the alleged misogynist faces the full power of the law, as we believe in the fairness and fairness of our country’s justice system.”
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In a statement, ANC Alexandra Zone 13 secretary Banele Sangcozi asked the man to resign as a councilor and as a member of the branch’s executive committee.
Clarity
If not, he said the ANC’s Johannesburg leadership should “provide the necessary practical clarity on how to deal with this comrade.”
He said he supported the ANC’s Johannesburg statement, which followed his initial statement.
Sangcozi said the ANC was clear in its 2017 national elective conference on what political office holders should do when “they are in a compromised position.”
The resolution at that conference was that party leaders and members should resign once charged with a serious crime, but this has not always been consistently applied.
“It is selfish for committed comrades to refuse to step aside and try to drag the organization into the mud,” he said.
