After being ordered to take forced leave by the City of Tshwane coalition committee this week, the embattled leader of ActionSA and MMC of human settlements in Tshwane, Abel Tau, has broken his silence.
Sunday World reported on Sunday that Tau was accused by his friend’s wife of having allegedly tried to rape her. For the first time on Wednesday, Tau addressed the serious allegations levelled against him.
Tau, the ActionSA provincial secretary in Gauteng, said he has written to his party’s national chairperson Michael Beaumont and the party’s senate to request a precautionary suspension from all party and City of Tshwane’s activities pending the outcome of an internal investigation and a criminal case opened with the police against him.
“I do this because I believe that as a country, we have a serious problem of gender-based violence, and therefore it is important that we do not just pay lip service to our fight against this scourge,” said Tau.
“Therefore, I cannot be seen to be roaming the streets doing my work both in the party and the city while I’m facing these serious allegations.
“I am also conscious of the fact that the matter has been referred to the coalition oversight committee and the speaker of the council for investigation. I commit to fully cooperate with all investigations that are currently under way, and I am confident that all bodies tasked with handling the matter will handle it fairly.”
Tau stated that he will not conduct media interviews on the rape allegations. ActionSA said it only became aware on Sunday that a criminal case had been opened against Tau.
It is alleged that Tau’s associate, who is also his childhood and family friend, dozed off after a heavy drinking session. Tau is then alleged to have called his friend’s wife to come and fetch her husband, as he was too drunk to drive.
When the wife arrived, she found her husband “out of it”. It is at this stage that Tau is said to have made sexual advances on the wife, which she rebuffed. He allegedly then tried to force himself on her, but she successfully fended him off.
A case of attempted rape has been opened and the prosecutor’s office is attending to the docket.
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