Sexual harassment complaint laid against Pule Mabe

The ANC has confirmed that a sexual harassment complaint has been laid against its national spokesperson Pule Mabe.

The party said the complaint, by a 26-year-old woman, was lodged last week with its deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte. A panel has been appointed to deal with the matter.

“The ANC confirms that a complaint has been lodged at its Headquarters last week. We have since established a Grievance Panel, as per our personnel manual, to ensure a fair process. The panel will hear the case later this week. Until the finalisation of these internal processes, the ANC will not comment on the substance of these allegations,” said the party in a statement on Monday.

News24 reports that the woman is expected to appear before the party’s grievance committee on Wednesday.

The complainant said she was employed by Mabe earlier this year despite him knowing that she has no qualifications. The ANC’s human resources department was also aware of this, she claims.

The unnamed woman, who is said to be an ANC Youth League member, said she was harassed by Mabe this year while they were on a work assignment.

She described two incidents where Mabe had acted inappropriately, including an instance where he visited her room and even climbed into her bed.

The woman said when she rejected Mabe’s advances, his attitude towards her changed.

He started becoming aggressive towards her and made her working life miserable. Things were made worse when Mabe cut her salary by R15 000.

Mabe is yet to respond to the allegations.

Politics Hub