‘I’m shocked, I have mixed emotions’, says ousted ActionSA councillor Nkele Molapo

Axed ActionSA member and councillor Nkele Molapo on Monday broke her silence after her termination from the party, saying she was shocked and had mixed emotions about the ordeal. 

“I was told of my termination from Action SA last night. After receiving the letter I contacted my lawyers who then applied for an urgent court application to interdict my vacancy replacement,” said Molapo.

Molapo alleges she was not given a chance to make representations to the party before she was booted out. 

“I don’t know what will happen once the court has concluded, we’ll take it from there,” she said,

In  a letter TimesLIVE has seen, ActionSA cited her failure to distance herself from anti-Herman Mashaba remarks and her “undying love” for ousted party member Abel Tau for the party's reasoning to part ways with her .

ActionSA said Molapo’s relationship with Tau and his "'continued campaign to damage the party has resulted in a material conflict of interest and an irretrievable breakdown in trust between Molapo and the party”.

Meanwhile, Molapo has denied allegations that she was part of the eight members who defied party line and voted in the embattled former Tshwane mayor Murunwa Makwarela.

“Our party took us for polygraph testing and I passed. I received an NDI result, meaning no deception indicated. It was not even mentioned in my termination notice because they know I passed the test,” said Molapo.

She thanked council members for “defending her in the face of injustice”.

“I must thank my colleagues in council for standing up for me. It shows that we can stand together in the face of injustice regardless of party affiliation,” said Molapo.

Chairperson of the party’s ethics and disciplinary committee Alistair Shaw said ActionSA had no issues with members having relationships with individuals from other parties.

The party said it was, however, unacceptable conduct when members privy to exceptionally confidential information and who hold senior positions in the party used this to further the interests of a party hostile to ActionSA, allegedly assisting a campaign to damage and discredit the structures of the party.

Tau, a former Tshwane human settlements mayoral committee member, was axed from the party at the beginning of the year for allegedly making sexual advances on the wife of a fellow member during a drinking session in November.

He later approached the courts to challenge the termination of his party membership and launched his own political party, United Africans Transformation. 

TimesLIVE

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