Suspended Western Cape community safety MEC Albert Fritz allegedly bombarded young women with late-night messages asking them to come to his room during out-of-town trips.
It is apparent from a thread of messages seen by the Sunday Times that Fritz and one of his alleged victims, who appeared to work in his department, were on a work trip.
In a bossy tone and in a thread peppered with bad language, Fritz persistently begs the woman to come to his room and urges her to make up a story for her companions about why she is leaving them. He tells her that he is going to leave the side door to his hotel room open.
At one point, the woman tells the MEC to learn to handle his “drink”. When it becomes clear the woman is not going to accede, Fritz tells her to “f**k off”. The woman responds by asking Fritz to move her elsewhere within his department.
Western Cape premier Alan Winde suspended Fritz, 62, last Sunday, saying he had received information about alleged misconduct by the MEC.
Good party secretary-general Brett Herron, a former member of the DA, said that in 2019 — almost a year after he left the DA — he was approached by an “intermediary who said he was looking for help for a group of young victims of Fritz’s predatory sexual behaviour”.
Herron told the Sunday Times: “I received shocking information, including a bunch of WhatsApp messages, revealing that ... Albert Fritz was using his position to take sexual advantage of vulnerable young interns and jobseekers in the department of social development.”
Fritz was the social development MEC for eight years before he was moved to head community safety in 2019.
Herron said the information and WhatsApp messages he received “show that there are allegations of sexual misconduct and they relate to the period during which Fritz was the MEC for social development”.
He added: “The intermediary sent me screenshots of several WhatsApp chats between the victims speaking of their fear of Fritz (who they nicknamed Humpty).
“I was also sent screenshots of a chat between Fritz himself and one of his young targets. The chat between Fritz and the young woman appears to have taken place while out of town on government and/or DA business.
“It appears that accompanying the MEC on these trips was regarded as a form of privilege — not least by the MEC himself.”
Herron said Fritz became angry when the woman refused his requests. “Besides swearing repeatedly at the woman when she doesn’t appear in his bedroom as ordered, Fritz repeatedly warns her that this will be the last time she will be accompanying him on a trip.”
Herron said the alleged victims, who he knew to number at least five, seemed to have been recruited from among young DA members in Mitchells Plain.
“One of Fritz’s former drivers, who is said to bear intimate knowledge of his boss’s activities, has allegedly also secured a position at a provincial child and youth care centre,” he said.
“Several of Fritz’s victims appear to have been recruited from the ranks of young DA members and supporters in a particular area of Mitchells Plain. Fritz has been the DA’s constituency head in Mitchells Plain.”
Herron said he had been unable to act on the information because the women changed their minds.
“Before I had the opportunity to act, the intermediary informed me that the women feared the impact of the scandal on their lives and jobs and they declined to meet me,” he said.
“Without being able to support and use the WhatsApp evidence, laying charges or demanding an investigation was futile and could have been defamatory.
“But now that Fritz has been suspended, and in the interests of furthering a proper investigation, I will hand the evidence in my possession to police once an investigation has been mounted. It is essential that the investigation be conducted by the authorities.”
Herron said as MEC for social development, and then community safety, Fritz was responsible for the welfare of vulnerable citizens.
“When he was promoted to head the community safety department, he had particular responsibilities in respect of the safety of girls and young women, in the context of a society in serious trouble with gender-based violence,” he said.
“It defies belief that victims of his alleged sexual predation and, evidently, at least one his enablers, are deployed in child and youth care centres.”
This week, Winde said he had received “serious allegations pertaining to the conduct of minister Albert Fritz”. Four community safety staff have also been placed on suspension, allegedly because of their role in enabling Fritz's alleged misconduct.
Advocate Jennifer Williams of the Cape Bar has been appointed by the state attorney, at Winde's request, to conduct an independent investigation.
Winde said the allegations were first brought to his attention “by a third party informally on 23 November 2021”.
He told the Sunday Times yesterday: "The allegations were shared with me under the strictest of confidence. They differed in nature but were all very serious.
"I promised the complainants that I would not divulge their allegations publicly, but that I would act as swiftly as possible.
"I immediately sought legal counsel and nine days after the first accounts were shared with me directly, I suspended the minister and initiated an independent, external investigation into his conduct.
"I also encouraged the complainants to lay charges with the police, when they felt ready to do so".
Winde said he had met an external, independent investigator and "our legal services unit" on January 27.
"It was agreed that on permission received from the complainants, I can share the nature of the allegations.
Our legal service unit has since done so, and with the permission now granted, I can confirm that the allegations being investigated by Advocate Williams relate to sexual misconduct.
In an earlier statement, Winde said: “I have ensured that the complainants were afforded due care and empathy and that no pressure was placed on them, noting the nature of their complaints.
He said further individuals indicated that they would like to come forward too, and legal services took their accounts down.
Herron said the allegations against Fritz should be investigated by police. “This is no time for damage control by the premier, Winde, who claims to lead a government of integrity,” he said.
“Fritz must be investigated by competent and independent authorities. That is the role of the police, not an investigator answerable to the premier.”
Cameron Dugmore, the leader of the ANC in the Western Cape legislature, wrote to provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Thembisile Patekile to find out if the allegations against Fritz amount to possible criminal conduct.
Brig Novela Potelwa, the provincial police spokesperson, said: “The office of the provincial commissioner acknowledges receipt of correspondence from the ANC in the Western Cape pertaining to the matter of allegations of sexual assault against the suspended MEC for community safety in the province.
“At this point, it bears noting that an inquiry has been opened by SAPS [the SA Police Service] in the Western Cape while pertinent documentation is awaited before a case is registered.
“It also bears mentioning that gender-based violence is still one of the priorities of the SAPS. The SAPS specialist detectives located within the family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit are always on hand to investigate reported cases.”
Jaco Londt, DA provincial chair, did not respond to Herron’s claims but referred the Sunday Times to a statement he issued on Monday.
In it, Londt said his party had accepted Fritz’s request to step down as provincial leader “until the completion of the investigation into allegations levelled against him. Mr Fritz will provide his full co-operation and has stepped down to allow the investigation to proceed unhindered.”
Fritz and his wife Dianne, 66, live in Bellville, in Cape Town's northern suburbs, and also own a property in Yzerfontein, on the west coast. They have one son.
Fritz did not respond to detailed questions from the Sunday Times about his alleged misconduct. When called, he sent an SMS saying: “Sorry, I can’t talk right now.”
THE FRITZ FILE
- Albert Theo Fritz was born in Woodstock in 1959 and lived in District Six and Hanover Park as a child.
- In 1976, he was expelled from Oaklands High School in Lansdowne for joining anti-apartheid protests.
- He has degrees in social sciences and law from the University of the Western Cape.
- In 2002 he was appointed SA's chief prisons inspector, and in 2014 he was admitted as an advocate at the Cape Town high court.
- He was a member of the UDF and the ANC before becoming a DA MP in 2009. He was Western Cape social development MEC from 2011 to 2019, when he took over at community safety. In May 2021, he became DA provincial leader.
WHERE TO GET HELP
Herron said: "I encourage any woman who is concerned or afraid that the unfolding investigation into Albert Fritz might affect them, and any woman who would like legal assistance and/or psycho-social support in order to tell their story, to make use of available support organisations.
"I contacted the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children and they assured me that they are available to assist victims with the appropriate legal and psychological support in a highly confidential environment. The centre can be reached on 083 307 1110 by women wishing to access support."
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