Johannesburg – The African National Congress (ANC) has challenged ActionSA leader Herman Mahsaba to name the “senior ANC leaders” he claimed were “involved in the criminal hijacking of buildings”.
Commenting on last week’s tragedy in which more than 70 people died in a building fire in the Johannesburg CBD, Mashaba – a former mayor of the city – asserted that senior ANC leaders were involved in the criminal hijacking of buildings.
Speaking to Jeremy Maggs on Moneyweb@Midday about hijacked buildings, Mashaba said: “People were on the waiting list since 1995, 1996, 1997, with the hope that one day they’ll get houses because the government kept on promising, but at the same time, not building houses, but at the same time, allowing the city, like the city of Johannesburg, and it’s something that’s happening all over, allow international criminal syndicates working with senior people in government involved in hijacking [buildings].
“What is sad about it is that they captured the criminal justice system because obviously senior politicians were part of these syndicates, then there were no consequences. Now, South Africa became a free-for-all”.
Responding to the accusations, the ANC on Wednesday challenged Mashaba, saying: “If he is truly the law-abiding citizen he pretends to be, to open criminal cases against the senior politicians he made reference to”.
“We have long understood that Mashaba, as a political novice, takes refuge in fake news and lies whenever he cannot advance a logical argument against the ANC and its transformative programmes,” said a statement attributed to ANC Greater Joburg Regional Secretary, Sasabona Manganye.
“We are, however, concerned that he has now reached the stage of believing his own lies to the extent that he would spew them to a veteran journalist without offering even a shred of evidence.
“We wish to state categorically that there is no ANC leader, whatsoever, involved in the destructive and criminal activity of hijacking buildings.”
