Untouchable' Vaal mayor slips up with lewd post

Simon Mofokeng, said to love liquor and an expensive lifestyle. 
Image: Antonio Muchave

Until a week ago, Emfuleni mayor Simon Mofokeng was the most powerful politician in Gauteng's Vaal area.

No number of scandals - and there have been plenty - had before threatened to topple a man ANC insiders in the party's Sedibeng region referred to as "the untouchable mayor".

Until he allegedly posted a picture of a semi-nude 14-year-old girl, with whom he is alleged to have been in a relationship, on an ANC WhatsApp group whose members include Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane and ANC Youth League president Collen Maine.

He is now on special leave and seemingly fighting for his political life. And to stay out of jail.

Mofokeng is expected in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate's Court on November 28, to hear if an interim protection order against him not to contact the girl will be finalised.

Mofokeng has spent more than 20 years on the regional executive committee and his stint as the longest-serving mayor in Gauteng has made him a powerhouse. He is considered a strong ally of ANC Gauteng chairman Paul Mashatile.

A former regional leader said: "If you want to know how he has survived this long with these scandals, look to the province. He is very valuable ... especially during conferences. He delivers delegates like no other. I don't think the province removed him because they wanted to. Now is a very crucial time [with the elective conference next month]. They had no choice. They had to do something."

When the ANC sought to create a metro in the Vaal by merging Emfuleni local municipality and the DA-led Midvaal, Mofokeng was heir to that throne. However, the plan fell through.

Insiders say he loves to drink and leads an expensive lifestyle. A Gauteng legislature response in April revealed that he had spent hundreds of thousands of rands of taxpayers' money on fast food, hotel stays and rented luxury cars while his official vehicle stood idle for almost a year.

His alleged scandals include suspicious transactions for R2-million at the Shakespeare Inn in Vanderbijlpark, using municipal security to guard his guesthouse, submitting allegedly bogus financial statements for services rendered at the Shakespeare Inn, renting a Mercedes-Benz for R120,000 between January and September 2016 and spending R1.7-million at KFC, Nando's and the Shakespeare Inn.

However, there were no penalties, no admonishment from his peers in regional ANC circles or the province.

His lawyer, Jaco van Heerden, confirmed on Friday that Mofokeng would oppose the protection order being made final. "We would like to ensure that the matter is heard in court with the least amount of interruption."

Mofokeng is also under investigation for sexually grooming the girl.

He was placed on special leave on Monday pending an internal investigation, and his place as a branch delegate to the ANC's elective conference appears in serious doubt.

At a meeting of provincial and regional leaders on Tuesday, Mofokeng's supporters unsuccessfully argued against his suspension. The Sunday Times understands they also argued that Mofokeng should have been allowed to appoint the acting mayor.

Mofokeng had been expected to give his side of the story but did not show up.