The African Democratic Change (ADeC) has distanced themselves from a former ward councillor candidate who has been accused of conspiracy to commit rape against a minor after the child-sex scandal erupted last week, rocking the party’s local government elections campaign in eThekwini.
Following a meeting held on Friday morning, the ADeC’s chairman, Eric Kistensamy, confirmed that the committee of enquiry, comprising senior retired police officers and legal advisers, removed the candidate from their list of contesters for the elections. “The committee has removed the candidate from the IEC list and notified him accordingly. His membership with the party is also terminated. Once the police investigation is completed, and if cleared, he may re-apply for membership,” said Kistensamy. This after the KwaZulu-Natal police confirmed that a case has been opened against the then candidate. KZN police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele, said a case of conspiracy to commit rape was opened at Wentworth SAPS after the voice notes were circulating on social media over the weekend. “Two people were heard conspiring to commit a rape on three minors. The docket was transferred to Brighton Beach FCS Unit for further investigation. Charges of defamation of character and intimidation were also opened at Wentworth SAPS. The complainant alleged that he received death threats after voice notes were circulating on social media. The matter is still under investigation,” said Col Mbele.
The voice recordings of the candidate, who cannot be named until officially charged, emerged early last week. In the recording, the voices of two people, one alleged to be the candidate who had worked in the Wentworth and Merebank communities for many years, and the other, a female, can be heard in what seems like a trusted conversation, planning a way to get minors, as young as six and nine, in a vulnerable position where the male in the conversation can either perform sexual acts on them or rape them. The recording, which is in the possession of Tabloid Newspapers, seems to be recorded in the candidate’s vehicle. The woman mentions the candidate’s name and surname, telling him not to waste her time. The woman asks the man what he plans to do to the child to which he explained to her in detail. He said he cannot do anything further because she will get hurt and asks if the woman will clean the child up afterwards. He also told the woman to set some children up with drugs or something illegal so that he can then approach them and ask them what was going on, further indicating that he would then have his way with the girls and manipulate them into not telling their parents.
He could be heard saying: “Let’s get them goofed and see how far we can go.” The woman in the recording asked the man if he has done something similar before and he said he has, with a child in Chatsworth. The recording caused widespread anger across social media resulting in ADeC leader, Visvin Reddy, and the party suspending the candidate, pending a investigation. Reddy said he had contacted the candidate, who failed to answer his phone or return the call. “A meeting was held where it was decided that the candidate would be suspended. Although he failed to contact us, we sent him a message. He then contacted us and notified us of his version of accounts. He said that the woman was known to him and is a sex worker who was addicted to drugs and tried to extort money from him. He said that she had contacted him and told him that she had children who she wanted to sell. He claimed to have been going along with the conversation to try to find out where the children were, so that he could try to help them. He said he hoped that she would lead him to the house, but she did not and he dropped her off at her house and left. He said he did not go to the police because he did not get the evidence he had required. He said that the woman in the voice note was known to him. Police have traced her and are conducting their investigation,” said Reddy. Attempts to contact the former candidate were unsuccessful and he could not be reached at the time of print.
