Johannesburg - The ANC has confirmed that criminally charged councillor-elect Keke Tabane was on their candidate list for the City of Joburg but vowed to investigate the claims against him before taking any decision on his fate.
Explaining the move, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said her party was made aware of the allegations against Tabane by the very same person who also lobbied to be a councillor in Ward 127 – the ward in which Tabane was nominated.
“It is for that reason that we are going to look hard into the allegations against Mr Keke Tabane. We need to do that because the complainant, who came to us this morning, is the very same person who lost out in the race to be councillor,” Duarte said.
While Tabane would remain on the list, others, according to Duarte, were not so fortunate.
Duarte revealed that her party removed several candidates – one of them, a woman in the Western Cape who allegedly insulted HIV positive people. She also revealed that three others from the Dullah Omar branch in Cape Town were also removed.
Tabane was arrested and charged with incitement of violence in July following the violent unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
But ANC leaders, who insisted on his nomination, were adamant that he was falsely accused, allegedly by some members of the ANC who allegedly wanted to block him from a councillor.
Tabane made a brief appearance in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on Monday, where his lawyer indicated his intention to make representation to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to have the charge dropped against him.
In July, the NPA opted not to oppose bail for him after he spent seven days in jail while awaiting to apply for bail.
Tabane is due back in court on October 7.
Political Bureau