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The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Gauteng Province welcomes and applauds the swift and prompt action taken by our fraternal Alliance partner, the African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng Province to place Emfuleni Executive Mayor Simon Mofokeng on special leave.

This decisive action by the ANC follows serious allegations of sexual abuse of a 14 year old minor by the Executive Mayor. We strongly condemn this alleged despicable and shameful conduct by the Mayor Mofokeng.

We are deeply shocked that the alleged incident occurred shortly after the SACP’s National Rally of the 2017 Red October Campaign that was focused on the struggle against gender based violence and the Triple Oppression of Women, at the core of which is patriarchy and male domination. This core message of the Red October Campaign was eloquently delivered by our General Secretary, Dr Blade Nzimande in a National Rally that was held in our province, in Johannesburg on the 8th October 2017.

Whilst our principled and founding Alliance practices and protocols do not allow that we interfere in each other’s internal processes, we are confident that the ANC will appreciate our call that any internal process relating to this alleged conduct assumes a broader as opposed to a narrow focus.

We strongly believe that the totality of the conduct and moral posture of the Executive Mayor be taken into account instead of focusing only on the alleged conduct. We believe that the abuse of the 14 year old minor is a reflection of the unabated and degenerate wild conduct that has in many occasions found expression in the commercial and social media.

We are deeply concerned that the Emfuleni Executive Mayor Simon Mofokeng has been a subject of a series of controversies that reflect false and decaying consciousness that borders on contempt for ethical, moral and exemplary leadership.

We are also deeply concerned that the leadership of Executive Mayor Simon Mofokeng in the municipality has also been a subject of a similar and consistent series of disreputable moral posture, based on allegations of misuse and abuse of public funds. 

We are also deeply concerned that whilst the overall management of the municipality has been deteriorating for some time now, and whilst it is not our practice to blame individuals for major failures or successes, we believe Mayor Mofokeng has not helped the situation.

Whilst we do not harbour any personal hatred, prejudice and stereotype against the Executive Mayor Simon Mofokeng, we believe that the totality of his personal conduct makes him a timely candidate for final recall.

We will remain seized with this matter, especially on the role of law enforcement agencies to ensure that the rule of law and interests of the vulnerable child of the working class take precedence above those of the alleged perpetrator of sexual abuse, Mr Simon Mofokeng.

We commit to engage our Alliance partners to find a comprehensive solution on this matter.

Issued by the SACP Gauteng province