Residents slam City over ‘rape’ councillor
|Published
COUNCILLOR: Van der Rheede
Hanover Park residents have demanded the immediate suspension of ward councillor Antonio van der Rheede, saying the City of Cape Town has failed to take action after he was arrested for allegedly raping a young woman, and while he is also being investigated for purported corruption.
A large group gathered at the Civic Centre on Thursday where they accused Mayor Geordin-Hill Lewis of having double standards.
The corruption probe into Van der Rheede came out after he was arrested for the rape of a vrou who worked as a neighbourhood watch patroller.
Van der Rheede, who has denied the allegations, appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court. He was granted bail and allowed to continue working in Hanover Park.
The mother of the alleged victim revealed that she was appointed as a community liaison officer on City projects, and claimed Van der Rheede told her not to take on residents he disliked, and to bypass the City’s job seekers database.
The residents also accused the City of being unfair towards councillor Zahid Badroodien, who landed innie sop after it was found that electricity connections at a home he owns were tampered with.
Avril Andrews said: “This is totally unfair and it’s an insult to us as women. One councillor gets suspended for electricity, and the other is an alleged rapist that still works in the community.”
City speaker Felicity Purchase addressed the crowd and confirmed that Van Der Rheede was under investigation: “The office of the speaker has not been advised of when a hearing will take place – that is currently in the hands of the disciplinary committee.”
Hill-Lewis said the differences between the two cases are significant: “In the case of councillor Badroodien, there was a full investigation and it was determined that there was a substantive case for him to answer.
“In the case of councillor Van der Rheede, that investigation has only just begun...because at present there is only an allegation.
“If we suspended people on the basis of allegation alone, it would be the easiest thing to ‘knock out’ every political office bearer by simply making an allegation, without any determination of whether it is substantive or not.”