Despite facing serious criminal charges, ANC ward councillor Mxolisi Masiza from Dordretch in the Chris Hani district municipality in the Eastern Cape, is still at work.
This even after the provincial leadership of the governing party had given him 24 hours to step aside from his position. Masiza, who is facing murder and attempted murder charges, is councillor for ward 11 at eMalahleni local municipality.
Sunday World reported last year that Masiza was a councillor candidate during the local government elections in November under the banner of the ANC, and he emerged victorious despite being charged with allegedly murdering Bonginkosi Msebenzi.
Masiza has been vocal about his innocence and has expressed his willingness to go clear his name in court.
ANC provincial secretary Lulama Ngcukaitobi said the ruling party is taking the allegations and charges faced by Masiza very serious.
“We have sent a letter instructing the councillor to step aside as per the ANC’s rules on the matter, so the court deals with it properly,” said Ngcukaitobi.
“We acknowledge the seriousness of the allegations, that is why we sent him a letter after the January 8th [ANC birthday] celebrations where we had instructed him to step aside.
“As the ANC in the province, we gave the councillor 24 hours to give us reasons as to why he should not step aside, but he ignored [us]. Now everything is in the hands of the council and we cannot interfere with the proceedings of the government as a political party.”
However, Masiza poured cold water on Ngcukaitobi’s assertions that he was sent a letter by the party ordering him to step aside.
“I don’t want to say they are lying about the letter ordering me to step aside, they probably wrote it, but it has not reached me. The fact that you are talking to me now and I am still a ward councillor clearly tells you that those allegations are false” said Masiza.
“It is as if the allegations were not enough, they even said the community does not want me. Please bear in mind that this is the same community that voted for me to be their councillor.”
He added that the ANC had approved him as its representative because there was no tangible evidence that he had indeed committed the crime.
“I was approved by the national deputy secretary-general, Jesse Duarte. Even in those meetings leading up to the actual elections, it was stated that I had gone through all the processes and there was nothing they found on me.”
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in the Eastern Cape, Anelisa Ngcakani, said Masiza will next appear in court on Thursday.
“The matter was postponed for the director of public prosecution’s [DPP] decision on a forum. The DPP has to decide in which court the case should be heard, either regional or high court,” said Ngcakani.
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