A top ANC Tshwane official is at the centre of assault allegations after a branch co-ordinator accused him of slapping him on the mouth.
Tshwane regional co-ordinator George Matjila allegedly slapped a Centurion branch co-ordinator, Mogomotsi Masilo, after Matjila was challenged about referring to ANC members as “boys”. Matjila has denied the claim.
A charge of common assault was laid against Matjila a week ago at Sunnyside police station in Pretoria.
Gauteng police spokesperson Mavela Masondo confirmed a case of common assault had been opened. “An investigation is under way,” he said.
Masilo told the Sunday Times the incident occurred two weeks ago at the ANC’s regional offices in Arcadia, where he had gone to sort out membership matters. He said that when he got to the office he found members of his own branch were already there to complain about him for going beyond his mandate in convening community meetings they felt could be called only by the councillor.
“Before I could even respond to [the issue] they were raising, a phone call came through [to Matjila] from someone telling the secretary our councillor in Mamelodi had been gunned down,” Masilo said.
After Matjila ended the call, he is alleged to have addressed those in the room and referred to them as “bafanas”, which Masilo objected to.
“I think he was trying to put out something like an advice that we should not involve ourselves with tsotsis [criminals] ... He said: ‘You bafanas, when you’re in politics, don’t engage with tsotsis.’”
Masilo said he complained, saying Matjila should not refer to them as boys. “I said, ‘Don’t say bafanas’, as I was trying to rectify [his] calling us bafanas, but he caught fire,” Masilo said.
An argument ensued. Matjila said he was not referring to Masilo specifically and then allegedly smacked him on the mouth with the back of his hand.
“He then said I had been speaking about him, and that I had also reported him to Luthuli House, which is gossip I know nothing about,” Masilo said, adding that Tshwane roads & transport municipal council member Tlangi Mogale helped calm him down and took him outside. he said Matjila later apologised for his conduct.
Masilo said he had also reported the matter to the province, as Matjila was the gatekeeper for all ANC matters in Tshwane.
“This issue should be handled either at province or national [level] ... we are being led by these kinds of leaders, which is worrisome, especially as we are in a renewal period,” he said.
When approached for comment, Matjila denied Masilo’s version of events, saying his allegation was intended to force him to step aside, in accordance with ANC policy.
“There was no incident — it’s pure lies [intended] to influence the thinking of people [about me],” Matjila said.
He also denied receiving any call about a Mamelodi councillor. “It’s another lie. There was never any report about a Mamelodi councillor. He’s just trying to concoct something.”
Mogale disputed that Masilo was slapped but confirmed a call had come through to Matjila’s phone about a councillor who had been shot 15 times.
“George was on the phone when that came in, as we got the news we [had] just lost a councillor ... The regional co-ordinator said something like, ‘Mfana ola bamethile [That boy has been hit]’, because the Mamelodi councillor is a young man ... Masilo thought maybe he was referring to him,” Mogale said.
She described the incident as “a misunderstanding”.
Other witnesses did not respond to calls and messages.
Matjila is no stranger to controversy. He was expelled from the ANC in 2016 for misconduct after a party disciplinary committee found him guilty of having masterminded the disruption of a 2014 ANC Youth League regional congress to thwart a faction he saw as “hostile”. At the time, he was the party’s deputy regional secretary. He was later reinstated by the national disciplinary committee after appealing the finding.
Last month, Matjila raised questions about Tshwane municipal manager Johann Mettler’s appointment, leading a push to have him removed from his post three years into the job.
The ANC’s Gauteng co-ordinator, Hope Papo, to whom Masilo also reported the incident, said the matter was a regional one “which must be addressed by the regional leadership”.
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