JOHANNESBURG - Armed robbery suspect Errol Velile Present is no longer employed by the African National Congress (ANC) and was summarily dismissed after his alleged criminality, the party said on Monday.
"We further need to categorically state that it is immaterial whether he was a volunteer or employed permanently. Present is alleged to have committed serious crimes during the very employ he refers to in his affidavit, culminating in his immediate dismissal," the ruling party said in a statement.
"Should he be aggrieved on the processes followed, Present is welcome to approach any institution that will afford him satisfactory recourse. The ANC once again rejects Present's warped imagination that he is still employed by the organisation."
On August 31, Present told the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court that he was only being paid half his salary by the ANC after he was arrested in connection with cash-in-transit heists. The 33-year-old father of four pleaded not guilty.
Present was fired by the ANC shortly after he gained notoriety following a statement by Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba's, in which he lambasted the governing party for employing someone who supposedly did not respect the rule of law.
He was employed at the ANC headquarters as a national organiser.
Present,Zakhele Zondi, Itumeleng Manama and Bheki Biyela each face a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances in connection with a cash-in-transit heist in Dobsonville, Soweto, on July 4, where R220,000 was stolen.
The case was postponed to September 11.