Johannesburg - The African National Congress (ANC) said on Thursday that the sitting of the grievance panel established to hear the sexual harassment case against its national spokesman, Pule Mabe, has been postponed to the next week at the request of one of the parties.
The grievance panel was scheduled to sit this week, but the ruling party is holding its manifesto launch rally in Durban on Saturday following its 107 birthday celebrations this week.
"We reiterate that until the finalisation of the internal processes, the ANC will not comment on the substance of these allegations," the party said in a statement.
Last month, Mabe's personal assistant wrote a letter to the party's deputy secretary-general, Jessie Duarte, alleging that the ANC spokesman had victimised her after she had rebuffed his sexual advances.
Calling herself a loyal member of the ANC Youth League, the young woman claimed in the letter that, among others, she was appointed without having a job interview and without qualifications for the position.
Meanwhile, Mabe denies the allegations against him and says he would never violate a woman. He volunteered to "step aside" while the grievance panel probes the complaint.