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Pule Mabe lays fraud charges against his accuser

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Kgoerano Kekana
Kgoerano Kekana

Suspended ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe, accused of sexual harassment, is determined to have the last word after he opened a case of fraud against his accuser, Kgoerano Kekana, on charges that she misrepresented the academic qualifications on her CV.

In the latest twist to the ANC sexual harassment saga, Mabe opened a case against Kekana on March 8 at the Sandton Police Station – where Kekana, also Mabe’s former personal assistant, opened a case last year that he had made unwanted sexual advances towards her on three instances.

In his statement, which City Press has seen, Mabe, who described himself as the ANC national spokesperson, said he was pressing charges in his personal capacity.

“[Kekana] has committed fraud in respect of which I hereby lay criminal charges against her.”

Mabe’s fraud charges formed a part of his defence during an internal ANC grievance hearing, in which he was cleared on the grounds that Kekana’s version was not supported by evidence.

He told the hearing that Kekana’s allegations were spiteful because he had blown the cover on her fabricated qualifications and consequently gave her a pay cut.

Kekana claimed Mabe treated her badly after she complained about his alleged advances and that her salary was cut because of it. Mabe, in turn, said the complaint against him was motivated by the salary cut.

In the police statement, Mabe said Kekana, in a CV that he received in July last year, said she had a diploma in public relations from Varsity College and a higher certificate of business management from Regenesys, which she would receive in October that year.

“As a direct result of the representation that [Kekana] made in her CV regarding her qualifications, I then took a decision to hire her as my PA with effect from August 1 last year.”

He said: “On making enquiries with Regenesys and Varsity College, I was advised [Kekana] did not have any of the qualifications she had professed to have.”

Pule Mabe

A letter from Varsity College, dated December 10 last year, stated that “Kekana was a registered full-time student at the IIE Varsity College from 2012 to 2014 but the student did not complete or graduate”.

Mabe said he decided to verify the qualifications when he realised, during the course of her employment, “a pattern of poor work performance”.

He said he had also asked the HR department of the ANC to enquire about Kekana’s qualifications.

“She deliberately lied to HR that she had received the qualifications but could not provide the certificate because of financial issues.”

Further, said Mabe, she had stated on her CV that she previously held the position of provincial deputy chairperson of the Congress of SA Students (Cosas) in Gauteng. “[Kekana] was never at any point appointed as the provincial deputy chairperson of Cosas.”

Mabe confirmed to City Press that he had laid the charges.

According to a 14-page letter outlining her complaint, Kekana claimed that Mabe forced himself into her bed on two separate occasions.

After she refused Mabe’s alleged sexual advances, he allegedly made her job miserable by reducing her salary and emotionally abusing her.

During hearings earlier in January, the panel heard of three alleged incidents of sexual harassment that took place last July at St George’s Hotel in Tshwane and another at The Ranch Resort in Limpopo.

The panel ruled in February this year that the complainant’s version was not supported by evidence and, in contrast, Mabe’s version was “corroborated by witnesses whose relevant evidence the complainant did not refute or challenge”.

Kekana said: “My complaint lodged late last year to the ANC, is not about qualifications or the lack thereof. It is about Pule sexually harassing me and the criminal case I have laid against him. He is trying to divert my grievances with other issues. Pule is not my employer, the ANC is. His baseless side show does not scare me.”


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