GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
14 November 2022
In Oudtshoorn, the DA-led council won’t act against its deputy mayor, who continues to receive his salary despite sitting in jail awaiting trial on sex offences, because it may lead to the party losing power in the town.
The balance of power is fragile. A DA-led coalition took the reins of the town from an ANC-led coalition in June, installing Chris Macpherson as mayor and Mlandeli Nyuka of the Suid-Kaap Saamstaan Party as his deputy.
Nyuka was charged in early October with sexually assaulting an employee in his office, in September, and refused bail.
Media attending the bail hearing reported that he had a previous conviction for sexual assault, and was out on bail with respect to an unrelated rape case when the latest alleged incident occurred.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila decribed the latest case thus: “He was arrested after he called his personal assistant to his office, locked the door behind her, promised her a promotion with a huge salary, lifted her dress and caressed her…”.
In an effort to buy her silence, he allegedly offered her a promotion.
Although he is in custody, Nyuka remains the deputy mayor of Oudtshoorn and continues to receive his monthly salary.
According to the Mayor’s Office, the matter is not in the council’s hands as no charges had been laid at the council.
“Please note that no charges have been laid with the municipal manager or with the mayor, regarding the alleged incident. This means that there are no grounds for an investigation by the municipality,” the mayor’s office was at pains to point out.
Western Cape MEC for Local Government Anton Bredell however lobbed the matter back to the Oudtshoorn council, telling media today that should the council investigate and find an alleged breach of the code of conduct he would be in a position to act.
Both the Mayor’s office and Bredell raised the constitutional assumption of innocence until guilt was proven.
Coalition politics are relatively new to South Africa. But they are in all likelihood here to stay. What events in Ekhuruleni, Johannesburg, Nelson Mandela Bay and Oudtshoorn – with Tshwane likely soon to join them – are teaching us is that coalitions of convenience instead of principle inevitably fail.
When coalition partners feel obliged to bypass their values and principles in order to cling to power, they take on the values and principles of the lowest common denominator – with all the implications for service delivery and governance that that brings…
DA leader John Steenhuisen insists that women should feel “as safe as we do in our homes and places of work”, but this evidently doesn’t apply to Oudtshoorn where his minions’ heads are buried deep in the sand over the alleged sex crimes of the deputy mayor.
There, the grip on power is a greater priority than accountability for what amounts to serial gender-based violence.
Media Enquiries:
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
Cell: 0825183264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 0733671223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za