Pretoria - ANC ward councillor and recently appointed Polokwane MMC for Water and Sanitation, Alfred Moakamedi, charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, has been served with a step-aside letter.
This after he allegedly beat up a female fellow comrade at a party branch meeting in Moletjie, outside Polokwane in June.
Moakamedi, a councillor at Ward 16 in Moletjie near Polokwane in Limpopo, has been accused of beating branch task team member Tlou Reinah Lekoloane, 37, who has since opened a case of assault at Seshego police station.
ANC provincial secretary, Soviet Lekganyane, confirmed with Pretoria News that he had written to Moakamedi, who is also ANC Peter Mokaba Region additional member, inquiring whether he had been criminally charged and if he would be stepping aside or face suspension.
Pretoria News can reveal that Moakamedi has been criminally charged and is out on bail, and will be making his second appearance at the Seshego Magistrate’s court on September 17.
The letter leaked to Pretoria News, addressed to Moakamedi from Lekganyane and titled: “Implementation of national conference resolution and NEC decisions regarding members charged with corruption and other serious crimes/suspension in terms of rule 25.70 of the ANC constitution,” asks if the member is indeed criminally charged.
It reads in part: “The provincial secretary office received a letter from members of your branch, indicating that you have been criminally charged in court of law. Please confirm whether this is true, that you have indeed been criminally charged and if you have made efforts to inform the organisation to voluntarily step aside in accordance with the step-aside guidelines as adopted by the NEC. You are requested to respond to this letter on or before the 10th September 2021.”
Moakamedi ignored phone calls and text messages sent to him. However, it was reported that the accusations were just a political smear campaign against him and that he would only step aside if the court found him guilty. “I will only step aside if the court finds me guilty and the ANC says I must step aside. This is just a plan to get rid of me in the ANC’s leadership structures. They are just playing dirty politics,” he said.
However, speaking to Pretoria News over the weekend, Lekganyane said if the member had indeed been criminally charged he should have stepped aside the day he was charged.
“Yes I have written a letter to the region and Moakamedi himself inquiring about the allegations and if they are true he should step aside or face suspension. The comrade cannot occupy a position in the municipality or anywhere else if he has been criminally charged. His appointment as MMC is erroneous. The comrade must have revolutionary morality and step aside if the allegations are true especially if it’s true that he has beaten a woman. We don’t want to see women marching to the Polokwane municipality regarding Gender Based Violence,” Lekganyane said.
Peter Mokaba Region spokesperson, Jimmy Machaka, could not confirm receiving the letter. He said: “I can’t confirm as I have not seen the letter yet but I will check with the secretary of the region and confirm.”
Pretoria News