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Suspended Western Cape ANC leader Marius Fransman, who is set to face charges by the party’s national disciplinary committee, has called on the ANC’s top six leaders to investigate the process undertaken by the integrity committee in investigating the sexual assault case against him.
He described the process as “fatally flawed” and packaged to “take him out” politically.
“They must also investigate why there are so many media leaks from the secretary-general’s [Gwede Mantashe’s] office that attempt to embarrass certain leaders in the ANC,” Fransman told City Press on Saturday.
He was responding to a question on whether the party’s disciplinary committee had charged him, as recommended by the integrity committee last month.
ANC sources claimed last week that Fransman had been served with three charges: one of abusing his office to obtain sexual favours from his former assistant, Louisa Wynand; one for issuing a media statement last month criticising the manner in which Mantashe handled the communication regarding his investigation; and one for taking the ANC to court.
ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa said Fransman had not been charged as per the recommendation of the integrity commission, but that the disciplinary committee was in the process of preparing a charge sheet that would be served soon.
Fransman confirmed this.
“I have not been charged, but that is not the main issue,” Fransman said.
“The issue is the injustice that took place over the past eight months.
“The issue is a fatally flawed integrity commission report that made a finding on me that was a complete distortion of the facts.”
He told City Press that a senior ANC national executive committee member was called in as a witness against him, despite the fact that that member was not part of the trip [where the sexual assault is alleged to have taken place].
“The witnesses who were on that trip and the witnesses in Rustenburg were never spoken to – meaning it is a fatally flawed process that was packaged to take me out completely,” said Fransman.
“That is the biggest injustice.”
He said he found it strange that Mantashe gave an extensive interview to City Press, and then said the report obtained by the newspaper was not authentic.
“I am calling on the wisdom of the top six to look at the deeper issue here and not assume what the secretary-general’s office is saying is true. They must find out who in that office is doing wrong.”
Fransman explained that the administration of the integrity committee was the responsibility of the secretary-general’s office.
Reflecting on the ANC’s national general council, which was held in October last year, Fransman said the council had cautioned that the integrity committee should not be used to settle factional and political scores.
“Mine is a classical case of how the integrity committee is being used for factional purposes. But I will not allow the injustice to continue,” he said.
