Pule Mabe has been at Luthuli House for some years but is now ready for a new chapter . (Lucky Morajane/Daily Sun/Gallo Images)
Pule Mabe says he is ready for the results of the ANC’s internal disciplinary hearing.
In December last year, the ANC initiated a disciplinary hearing after Mabe was accused of sexually harassing his 26-year-old personal assistant.
Mabe told eNCA on Wednesday that the complainant could not attend the disciplinary hearing on Wednesday, leading to a postponement of the hearing. The dates, Mabe said, had “long been confirmed” for January 9 and 10.
The complainant, however, disagreed. She says the date of the hearing was communicated late, and she had previous family commitments which meant she could not attend.
She expressed her shock, saying Mabe had gone against the party’s wishes by revealing when the hearing was meant to sit.
In a 14-page letter to the party’s deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte, Mabe’s assistant detailed how he offered her a job in exchange for sex. At the time, the assistant asked Duarte to intervene.
Mabe took leave of his duties as the ANC’s national spokesperson in December pending the results of the hearing.
The panel is chaired by NEC members S’dumo Dlamini and Thoko Didiza and is expected to make a finding that will be binding on both parties.
When asked about his response to the allegations, Mabe told the eNCA that he had agreed to participate in the internal processes of the ANC. He said he would state his case in the appropriate channels: “It would be very unfair of me after having agreed to the discipline of the movement to go outside the forum. The panel is doing its job.”
Watch Pule Mabe’s response to eNCA.