Cape Town - DA councillor Sam Pienaar has until close of business on Monday to say why he should not be suspended for allegedly contravening the DA’s regulations for nominating candidates to take up public office.
The DA councillor in the City of Cape Town was served with a notice of intention to suspend after he allegedly failed to disclose his involvement in the former South African Defence Force’s (SADF) citizen force during the 1980s.
DA Western Cape spokeswoman Liza Albrecht said: “Pienaar was handed a notice of intention to suspend on Friday on the grounds that he deliberately withheld information from the DA regarding his activities as commander in the former SADF’s citizen force, especially relating to the planning of the 1985 Trojan Horse Massacre.”
Pienaar, 73, joined the party in 2000 and became a councillor in 2011.
He replaced embattled city councillor Willie Japhta – who was suspended after seeking clemency for a criminal convicted alongside one of the city’s most notorious gangsters – as chairman of subcouncil 6 in the northern suburbs.
Japhta was found guilty of breaching the DA’s code of conduct and suspended. Pienaar could face the same fate.
Jaftha made headlines when he wrote a letter to the Western Cape High Court to ask for clemency for Riyaaz Dennis, who was linked to one of the 28s gang bosses, George “Geweld” Thomas.
Pienaar’s transgression relates to an incident on October 15, 1985, when railway police hid themselves in crates on the back of a truck, only to emerge from the crates and open fire on protesters, first in Athlone, a day later in Crossroads. Five youths were killed and scores injured.
Pienaar appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in May 1997, but was never prosecuted.
The DA said Pienaar has been granted an opportunity to say why his DA membership should not be suspended, pending a disciplinary investigation.
Albrecht said Pienaar’s submission must be made by 5pm on Monday. “If his presentation is unsuccessful, he will be formally suspended, pending the investigation.”
Not everyone in the DA ranks is happy about disciplinary action being taken against Pienaar. Several members questioned why the party was driving the ANC’s agenda, trying to crucify a “good councillor” who had served the party well.
The ANC has been calling for Pienaar to be axed from the city council.
One member said: “It is not like he was hiding anything. He appeared before the TRC in a very public process.
“Could someone point out where on the candidate nomination forms it is stipulated that you must reveal your role during apartheid?”
Others felt Pienaar should be kicked out of the party, yet others feared the action taken against him could result in other senior members being “attacked”.
A senior party member told the Cape Argus: “Where is our sense of forgiveness? What happened two decades ago should not be held against him.”
Cape Argus