Al-Jamah, and not ANC, must make decision on Gwamanda - Mbalula
ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula said on Monday that Al Jama-ah will have to take a decision on its fraud-accused member Kabelo Gwamanda.
The former mayor of Johannesburg and current community development MMC was arrested over the weekend on allegations of fraud.
He is accused of conning residents out of payments in an alleged funeral policy scam dating back more than 10 years.
Gwamanda allegedly ran a funeral policy scam through his company, iThemba Lama Africa, selling policies to Soweto residents in 2011; however, residents said they could not find the company offices to claim their pay-outs.
"We don't interfere in other political parties,” Mbalula said.
“He's a member of Al Jama-ah, and he leads Al Jama-ah.
"It is Al Jama-ah that must take its own independent decisions. If he was a member of the ANC, he would be required to step aside voluntarily,” Mbalula added.
This comes after Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero said the fraud charges against Gwamanda warrant the application of the ANC's step-aside rule.
"I am deeply concerned by the matter of the arrest of MMC Kabelo Gwamanda. I wish to confirm that as a first step, I am meeting Cllr Kabelo Gwamanda on Tuesday to receive his counsel and official report,” Morero said.
"Consequently, as a deployee of the ANC in political office, we are guided by the ANC’s position on similar matters and cannot and do not expect any less from our partners in government.
"We can duly confirm that the situation meets the minimum requirements for the step-aside rule to kick in.”
Al Jama-ah is part of the ANC-led coalition in Johannesburg.
The party’s spokesperson, Yusuf Khan Dalwai, said that Gwamanda would address the media later this week.
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