Council hopeful denies he's a 'deadbeat dad' behind on child maintenance

The road to air-conditioned chambers for an aspirant councillor in the Western Cape took an unexpected turn when he was accused of failing to pay child maintenance.

The United Independent Movement (UIM) member was accused on social media, in a post featuring an UIM poster and angry emojis, of neglecting to pay maintenance for more than a decade. The post questioned his suitability to act in the best interest of the community.

TimesLIVE is not naming the man — who strenuously denies the claim — to protect the identities of any children who may be involved.

The post trended on social media and has forced the UIM to respond. The party said in a statement it had questioned the aspirant councillor about the claims.

“As a party that stands for generational values, the UIM has inquired into this matter and received a signed, sworn police affidavit from [the candidate] in which he rejects these allegations as false and untrue,” it read.

“In our society, one remains innocent until proven guilty. The correct manner of dealing with such a matter is to direct any queries to the individual and not post allegations on a social media platform that is full of fake news.”

In his affidavit, the candidate admitted that he had a child but said “while I was employed, I did pay my maintenance”.

He said the allegation was affecting his “political career”.

“I would like the police to investigate this case of crimen injuria. This incident caused tension between me and my wife, my family, my colleagues at my political party and my friends out there in SA.”

UIM founder Neil de Beer said his party had dealt with the issue and referred TimesLIVE to the statement and the candidates’ affidavit.

“We are very clear that the minute we have the solid evidence proving that the accusation against this candidate is real, he cannot represent our organisation,” said De Beer.

“This will not derail us. The UIM has grown by 1,000%. We are interested in uniting the country.”

TimesLIVE