Sipho Maselane has been accused of raping four women – two of whom were 14 years old at the time. Police have alleged that Maselane would offer his victims lifts home at night, before taking them to spaces of open veld to rape them. His charge sheet also includes one count of assault and four counts of armed robbery. Currently out on bail, Maselane’s next court appearance is set down for Thursday.

Maselane is the ANC ward councillor for Winterveld in Pretoria, a position for which he was nominated and elected despite the ANC’s full knowledge of his alleged crimes, which took place in 2014 and 2015.

How can an individual who has been criminally charged with such serious offences be nominated for political office? And how can the ANC not have launched an internal disciplinary process to deal with the matter?

These are the questions posed by the gender activists behind the #NotOurLeaders campaign, which aims to expose the protection given by South Africa’s political parties to men accused of sexual assault in their own ranks.

In the case of Maselane, the Tshwane ANC has repeatedly argued that the law should be allowed to take its course before the party takes action against the ward councillor.

“There is part of our democratic system that allows for a fair and legal way of dealing with people suspected of having committed crimes,” Tshwane ANC spokesperson Teboho Joala told Daily Maverick on Monday.

“Upon having reflected on the other mitigating circumstances which [Maselane] has discussed with leaders of the ANC and the caucus, we are yet to find a different decision which says he must recuse himself [as ward councillor],” Joala said.

Asked what “mitigating circumstances” Maselane might have presented to defend his position, Joala said that he did not have details but “there could be other political influences on the matter”.

When Maselane’s court case is concluded, Joala says the Tshwane ANC will “re-assess”.

This approach just isn’t good enough, say gender activists. Lawyers for Human Rights’ Sanja Bornman says that there is no legal requirement for court processes to have to conclude before internal action can be taken in cases like this.

Beyond this, activists point out that a laissez-faire attitude to cases like Maselane’s is in conflict with the ANC’s own constitution.

The ANC constitution’s Rule 25 allows for the suspension of members accused of “engaging in sexual or physical abuse of women or children” when taking into account “the nature and seriousness of the alleged violation or act of misconduct and when considering the impact of the alleged violation or misconduct on the repute of the organisation”.

The ANC has, in the past, acted swiftly against certain leaders accused of sexual misconduct – such as Western Cape leader Marius Fransman – but activists believe the inconsistent approach to cases shows that such decisions are often motivated by political factors.

Maselane’s case is not isolated. Over the 16 Days of Activism For No Violence Against Women and Children, the #NotOurLeaders campaign will release a press statement daily carrying details of other political leaders accused of acts of sexual assault yet not meaningfully disciplined by their parties.

The campaign is the brainchild of the Women and Democracy Initiative of the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape, Lawyers for Human Rights, and gender violence specialist Lisa Vetten.

Explains Bornman: “The cases were chosen specifically because they are not the usual high-profile politicians. We wanted to highlight the sexual abuse that goes on at all levels of government leadership, including on the local municipal level – cases that do not get the attention they deserve.”

In all the cases that the campaign is spotlighting, criminal charges have been laid or disciplinary proceedings instituted. The cases are drawn from across political parties, making it clear that the ANC is not the only offender here.

Tuesday’s case, for instance, involves Inkatha Freedom Party deputy mayor of AbaQalusi, Mncedisi Maphisa, who has been charged with sexual assault, indecent exposure of genitals and compelling a person to witness masturbation.

The #NotOurLeaders campaign states: “It is reported that on 12 October 2017 [Maphisa] gave a woman a lift from Ulundi to Vryheid and stopped along the way to demand sex from her. When she refused, he proceeded both to masturbate in front of her and coerce her into touching his penis.”

Like Maselane, Masphisa is currently out on bail – and the IFP will not act on the matter until his criminal trial is concluded. This approach is a common feature of many of the cases highlighted by the #NotOurLeaders campaign.

“This is unacceptable,” says Bornman. “Disciplinary processes, which have a different purpose and onus of proof to a criminal process, can and should start and run concurrently with any criminal trial, if we are serious about getting rid of sexual abuse in political and other leadership.”

The IFP’s passive stance towards Maphisa is particularly perplexing because the party’s constitution requires that members charged with criminal acts be suspended automatically.

Attempts by Daily Maverick to obtain comment from the IFP on Monday were unsuccessful.

The activists also want to see comprehensive policies on sexual misconduct adopted by political parties. At the moment, parties’ policies in this regard sometimes refer only to abuse and harassment within the party rather than covering actions of this kind towards external parties. In the case of the IFP, sexual misconduct is not listed among 20 “offences against the party” named in the IFP’s constitution.

When the activists considered the cases they are highlighting, certain trends emerged.

“In some instances the sexual harassment is one aspect of an overall pattern of corrupt conduct that also includes dodgy tenders and procurement processes,” Vetten told Daily Maverick. “These individuals are clearly connected and enjoy protection – perhaps precisely because they are embedded in broader networks of corruption. Under these circumstances it is extremely difficult for women to report [the crimes] and be taken seriously.”

The Women and Democracy Initiative’s Sam Waterhouse adds that some of the political leaders accused are either moved laterally across the organisation or given golden handshakes to disappear quietly.

“We’re also considering the way that political parties use these allegations against each other but not internally,” says Waterhouse. “So when a person from one party is accused, then the other parties suddenly get very strong on zero tolerance.” DM

The cases made public by the #NotOurLeaders campaign may be read daily on dullahomarinstitute.org.za during the 16 Days of Activism