Numsa ‘disgusted’ by ANC reinstatement of rape accused member in Mpumalanga
The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) has expressed disgust at the African National Congress (ANC) in Mpumalanga’s decision to reinstate a rape accused member of its executive.
The suspect, who cannot be named to protect his children, is accused of raping his two eight-year-old daughters.
He is currently out on bail.
The news comes as the country commemorates 16 days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Numsa's spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says the lack of intervention by the national leadership is disheartening.
ALSO READ: Makhubo to comply with Zondo commission, as DA prepares to picket
“It is truly alarming that the governing party can turn a blind eye to allegations of this nature, and consciously deploy a person knowing that he is facing such serious allegations.
"It is clearly evident that the ANC is only paying lip-service to the issue of Gender-Based Violence.
"We are deeply disturbed by the profound lack of empathy and the careless disregard for the victims and their suffering," Hlubi-Majola says.
She says the judicial system has again failed victims of sexual assault, following the court’s decision to relax his bail conditions.
"Victims of sexual assault and rape are often discredited and their allegations dismissed, and therefore the celebration that took place when the accused was released back into the community, sends a terrible message: that those who violate children can act with impunity.”
The union says the region was able to justify the reinstatement because the ANC, at a national level, has not yet resolved the issue of the stepping aside of implicated members.
