Cape Town - The ANC in the Western Cape says it will release a recording confirming community safety MEC Dan Plato’s “smear campaign” against its leaders.
ANC provincial secretary Songezo Mjongile lodged a complaint with the police on Friday that accuses Plato of abusing his power, perjury and conspiracy to commit perjury. The ANC didn’t hand over the recording at the time.
Mjongile said on Sunday the ANC’s lawyers were transcribing the recording but would hand it over to the Hawks on Tuesday.
On Thursday the DA and ANC publicly accused each other in the Western Cape Provincial Legislature of being involved in gangs.
DA MPL Mark Wiley told the legislature the DA had affidavits that linked ANC provincial chairman Marius Fransman and others to organised crime involving gun running, drug smuggling and murder.
Mjongile’s affidavit noted, however, that a recording existed that showed Plato met a gangster under the guise of peace talks and told him he would use affidavits from another gangster as a smear campaign against Fransman and others on the Cape Flats.
“I am outraged that Plato has used information he obtained as a result of holding office as MEC, used that information to manipulate an NGO to compile an affidavit from an admitted drug addict, convicted criminal and known gangster in which he deliberately implicates the ANC in the Western Cape,” Mjongile wrote.
Plato has not denied meeting with gangsters.
He told the Cape Times yesterday that he had handed over the affidavit and other documents to the public protector to investigate the claims.
“I cannot say what truth there is in the (gangster’s) affidavit and that is why I handed it over months ago but we did not make a fuss about it in the media,” he said.
Plato promised to co-operate with any investigation against him.
Cape Times