‘Gwamanda’s arrest a cause for concern’: Mayor Morero

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The executive mayor of the city of Johannesburg, Dada Morero says he is concerned by matter of the arrest of community development MMC Kabelo Gwamanda.

Gwamanda, an Al Jama-ah councillor, was arrested on Friday for allegedly swindling Soweto residents in a funeral insurance scam that he ran in 2011 and 2012.

One of the victims who is said to have been conned by Gwamanda and his co-director of the iThemba Lama Afrika company, laid charges against him in January this year, when they recognised him on television.

According to Sunday Times, a warrant of arrest was issued for him in May, but  Gwamanda was travelling in Brazil at the time and failed to meet the investigating officer on his return, as he had promised.

Morero confirmed that as a first step, he will be meeting Gwamanda on Tuesday to receive his counsel and official report.

“Consequently, as a deployee of the ANC in political office, we are guided by the ANC’s position on similar matters and cannot and do not expect any less from our partners in government.

https://twitter.com/DadaMorero/status/1848329544022798701

“We can duly confirm that the situation meets the minimum requirements for the step aside rule to kick in. As we deal with this matter with the urgency it requires, we shall make use of the authority vested in us in office.

“This including as provided for in the code of conduct for councillors, to execute our responsibilities faithfully and without favour,” the mayor stated.

Meanwhile, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in Gauteng has called for the recusal of Gwamanda from his council duties amid fraud charges.

The trade union said these accusations levelled against Gwamanda raise serious concerns regarding vetting processes as well as escalating fraudulent activities against the poor and already overburdened working class. 

“Workers are currently grasping at straws toiling to make ends meet. Whilst saving funds for the eventuality of the costs of a burial, malicious criminals remain lurking to pounce on their hard-earned money through scams.

“Entities who are found to be culprits of such practices must face the full might of the law and not be spared,” provincial secretary, Louisah Modikwe remarked.

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Modikwe further highlighted that it is disheartening to contemplate that Gwamanda held the position of mayor of the largest economies with a possible history of this nature.

She added; “This exposes cracks in the vetting processes that if they had been followed, would have averted unwelcomed attention. The public would have also remained in the dark.”