South Africa News

Coalition talks: ANC looks to review Icosa deal after child rapist appointed as mayor

The African National Congress (ANC) has until the end of the day to decide the fate of their coalition agreement with Icosa, which saw the party’s leader and convicted child rapist, Jeffrey Donson appointed as mayor.

Calls are mounting for the party to distance themselves from him, after a joint council meeting in Kannaland in the Western Cape, last week saw Donson re-elected as mayor.

The ANC in the Western Cape has made it clear that the decision to appoint a child rapist as a mayor was not theirs.

Spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said that the party’s coalitions negotiation team was working on a deadline for Tuesday to constitute their councils.

“When you enter into agreements with political parties, they don’t come with a list of names but now with this type of revelations and outrage, we as the ANC thought that we probably need to review that arrangement,” Mtsweni said.

But for the Commission for Gender Equality’s Javu Baloyi, it’s not about who appointed Donson, but rather why he was allowed to run for office in the first place.

“We have a pandemic called GBV. What are we saying to all victims? The IEC must look at any person convicted of gender-based violence and should not allow them to stand for any position whatsoever,” Baloyi said.

In parallel to the ANC processes, the commission has launched an investigation into Donson’s appointment and called for his immediate removal from office.

-EWN

In other news – The real reason why Kaya FM fired Unathi Nkayi; Sizwe Dhlomo involved

Seasoned radio host and Idols SA judge Unathi Nkayi was fired from her job at Kaya FM on Wednesday, allegedly following a heated argument with fellow host Sizwe Dhlomo a few weeks ago.

Unathi Nkayi and Sizwe Dhlomo

The Gauteng-based radio station announced that it had terminated the Midday Joy host’s contract with immediate effect because “certain incidents had occurred, which resulted in the breakdown of the trust relationship between the two parties”. Learn More