A Johannesburg EFF regional leader who is also a City of Johannesburg councillor is under investigation by police after a case of rape was opened against him at the Alexandra Police Station.
Gauteng police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo confirmed that a case of rape was opened and a suspect aged 38 was arrested.
Masondo said the suspect was arrested on October 16 last year and was scheduled to appear at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on October 18 last year.
When asked for more specific details regarding the alleged rape, Masondo said: “For more information, please check with the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) because the suspect has already appeared in court.”
NPA regional spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the matter was not enrolled in court last year pending further police investigations, and therefore the politician did not appear in court.
Mjonondwane said the suspect cannot be held in police custody because he has not been charged. She said the alleged rape occurred on June 24 last year. The complainant opened the case in October.
The identity of the complainant is known to Sunday World.
Mjonondwane said she did not know where the alleged rape happened, and declined to reveal details as to how the incident took place.
The suspect, whose name is known to Sunday World, has denied the rape allegations against him.
Mjonondwane said the NPA was waiting for the police to complete their investigations before taking a decision on whether to prosecute or not.
“The docket was recalled and received, however, the NPA’s instructions on outstanding investigations that must be complied with by the investigating officer have not been complied with, and the NPA referred the docket back to the SAPS to conclude the investigations and bring back the docket for a decision,” said Mjonondwane.
A police source close to the case said the alleged rape took place at the complainant’s place of residence.
“The alleged perpetrator visited the victim and asked for sex, promising to protect the victim from the community, which according to the perpetrator, wanted to kill her. And it turned out to be untrue, according to the victim,” said the police source.
The suspect told Sunday World he had never had any romantic relationship with the complainant and had not raped her.
“She is a former EFF member. She is now a member of the ANC Women’s League. She and I worked together in the EFF, did political work together and door-to-door campaigns. Now that she has joined the ANC she is coming with her tricks.
“We are not friends. We are not in any relationship. I did not rape her. She is taking such a serious issue of rape and playing with it. Women are being raped and abused. She is taking this serious issue and using it for political purposes. We should not play with such issues,” he said.
He said the rape allegation emerged after the complainant was evicted from a place the EFF gave her to reside in.
“The EFF gave her a place to stay in Alexandra in 2020. She was previously living with her children in a salon. A block of apartments was built and the EFF found an apartment for her and her children to live in for free. She then rented the place out to her cousins. The place we gave her is not for rental.
“We told her to leave the place because she was no longer using the place for its purpose. She left around the end of September last year. Now she is coming with this issue that I assaulted and raped her. I was arrested and slept in holding cells. I did not rape her,” he said.
A police officer at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court, who spoke to Sunday World on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media, said the suspect did not appear in court on October 18 last year.
“He was taken from the [holding] cells, but he did not appear in court. He left the court building walking together with the victim. It is like they were
trying to fix the issue,” said the police officer.
