ANC Gauteng places Emfuleni Mayor Mofokeng on special leave

The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng has placed Emfuleni Mayor Simon Mofokeng on special leave following allegations that he had been sexually grooming a 14-year girl.

The ANC Gauteng Provincial Office Bearers convened a meeting with ANC Sedibeng regional office bearers in Johannesburg on Monday to consider the allegations.

“A decision was taken that Mofokeng should be placed on special leave pending the investigation of the allegations by the relevant law enforcement agencies,” the ANC in Gauteng said in a statement.

Following a council process, an acting mayor will be appointed and announced in due course.

In May, it emerged that Mofokeng had spent more than R1.7m at KFC‚ Nandos and on hotels since 2011.

Gauteng co-operative governance MEC Paul Mashatile made the disclosure in a reply to a Democratic Alliance in the legislature.

"Mayor Mofokeng racked up a shocking R1.1m between 2011 and 2015 as ANC mayor of Sedibeng district municipality‚ before he was deployed as mayor to Emfuleni — where he gobbled up a further R629‚000 between November 2015 to April 2017,” said DA MPL Kingsol Chabalala. - TimesLIVE