The embattled ward councillor in the area is not going down without a fight…
She says the letter of resignation that resulted in the IEC declaring her post vacant is a fake one and the signature in it is not hers.
The letter, which 013NEWS saw on Sunday morning and dated 31 August 2016, says: “This serves as my resignation letter as ward councillor of Victor Khanye local municipality with immediate effect. I also wish to thank the ANC for giving me the chance and deploying me as ward councillor for Victor Khanye local municipality ward 6.”
Maria Sepenyane says this particular letter was forged and “even a small child can see the signature is not real”.
“To be honest with you,” Sepenyane told the 013NEWS reporter on Sunday morning, “I was second on the list and Mishack Mthombeni was first.
“But the issue of gender was considered when the names were being submitted. The issue of continuity, geographical representation and of the alliance as you know I’m an SACP member.
“The process went ahead smoothly and I won the ward but soon afterwards the ANC came and asked me to quit, saying I was not popular simply because they wanted to put their own and remove communists from government,” she said.
She said somewhere in July 2016 she signed a letter withdrawing her candidacy – after community members complained about the manipulated selection process that led to her being a ward councillor candidate – but a meeting between regional leaders of the SACP and ANC decided she should continue for “gender consideration and for the sake of the alliance partners”.
In an affidavit dated 2 September 2016 and made with the Delmas cops, Sepenyane denies ‘vehemently’ ever signing a resignation letter, saying resigning now would mean “a betrayal to the electorates”.
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“I have just been elected in the ward on 3 August 2016 and I don’t have any intention to resign,” she said in the affidavit.
“The letter attached and the signature that were received by the municipal manager of Victor Khanye, Mr M. Mahlangu, and also sent to the IEC election manager Mr. M. Mbamba in Delmas are fraudulent documents.
“I’m requesting the police to investigate and arrest all the perpetrators of this group of fraudsters,” she said.
“If I resign, the first person to know and witness the content of my resignation is my husband, Diikgetse Ramaseka Sepenyane, I will do so in the presence of the chief whip of the ANC in Victor Khanye local municipality,” she said.
Delmas police confirmed on Sunday afternoon they were investigating a case of fraud concerning Sepenyane’s resignation letter.
Nkangala ANC regional spokesman Sello Matshokga confirmed the ANC in the region and province was aware a case of fraud has been opened, after Sepenyane disputed both the letter and the signature in it.
“Yes we are aware,” he said late on Sunday, asking the reporter to call on Monday morning for a detailed comment.
(edited by MLM)
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