Willem Breytenbach, the former teacher and journalist who is accused of sexual abuse by several men, will appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday on one charge of indecent assault and one of sexual assault.

More charges were expected to be added. Breytenbach was released on R50 000 bail on December 5.

In November last year, Johannesburg-based copywriter Deon Wiggett and News24 co-published a series of podcasts called My Only Story, in which Wiggett exposed Breytenbach as an alleged sexual predator. It ultimately led to his arrest on December 3 at his mother’s house in Reebok, a small town near Mossel Bay in the Southern Cape.

Since his arrest, more men who allege they were raped or sexually abused by Breytenbach, have come forward, bringing the total to 41.

Of these, 17 were younger than 16 when Breytenbach allegedly abused them, seven were younger than 18 and the youngest was 12 years old at the time of the alleged incident.

RELATED | Experts say its never too late to report sexual offences

These alleged incidents happened between 1983 and 2019. Of these alleged victims, eight were pupils at Grey College in Bloemfontein and 11 at Hoërskool Langenhoven in Riversdale, where Breytenbach taught in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Seven, including Wiggett, came into contact with Breytenbach in their teens while participating in a school newspaper project Breytenbach organised when in the employ of Media24.

Nine others claimed Breytenbach, 55, abused them when they were his employees at Cape Town-based digital marketing firms Lumico and Lightspeed Digital Media from 2014 to 2019.

‘Please respect me’

Following the publication of the first podcast on November 7, in which Breytenbach was simply referred to as “Jimmy”, Breytenbach closed all his social media accounts and disabled his cellphone number.

Breytenbach asked most of his employees at his company, Lightspeed Digital Media, to resign and left his Cape Town house for Reebok.

News24 located him at this house on November 21.

“Please respect me. I respect you, but unfortunately, I can’t speak to you,” he said before closing the door.

ANALYSIS | How Willem Breytenbach got away for 40 years

The following day, News24 reported that Breytenbach had attempted suicide on November 15 on a beach near Mossel Bay. He had taken a mixture of sleeping tablets and alcohol and was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Magistrate Ronel Oliver granted Breytenbach bail with conditions, which included that he signed in at a police station three times a week, and remained in the Groot Brak River area. He also had to surrender his passport and may not have contact with any complainants.

The needs of the residents of Tshwane have suffered as political priorities trumped service delivery, Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements Lebogang Maile said on Sunday following the resignation announcement of Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa.

“The resignation of councillor Mokgalapa further deepens the leadership and administrative crisis facing Tshwane. Unfortunately, the needs of the residents of Tshwane have been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency once again”, said Maile.

Mokgalapa, on Sunday announced his intention to resign at the end of this month. In a statement, he said he would resign “before the next Council meeting at the end of February”.

READ: Embattled Tshwane mayor Stevens Mokgalapa announces resignation, DA thanks him for his service

On Saturday, News24 revealed that DA party leaders had urged Mokgalapa to resign or be forced out of his position, a move which could severely dent his political career.

Maile said the provincial government was committed to provide the city with “all the support it needs to overcome its challenges to prevent the municipality from going into a state of total collapse”.

He said that with Mokgalapa’s resignation, council was now compelled to convene and elect a new mayor.

Cool heads and political maturity

“This will be an opportune time for council to resolve some of the issues that have been on its agenda for a while now. What is required will be cool heads and political maturity from all parties represented in council.”

Maile praised Mokgalapa as a mayor “who understood the meaning of cooperative governance and the importance of working closely with all spheres of government”.

“The provincial government wishes councillor Mokgalapa well in his future endeavours post his short-lived stay in office. He vacates office at an unfortunate time, amidst massive service delivery challenges, such as the water crisis in Hammanskraal and mismanagement of city finances that have left the municipality in a perilous state.”

Embattled Tshwane Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa could be hit with the DA’s so-called “De Lille clause” if he doesn’t step down from his role leading the metro in the coming days.

Mokgalapa has been on special leave since November following the release of an audio recording allegedly featuring him and then-Transport MMC Sheila Senkubuge engaging in an intimate act in the municipality’s offices.

The mayor’s leave, which was extended in January, ended on Friday, meaning he is due to return to his office at the helm of the capital city on Monday.

However, News24 understands a petition from his own caucus and a meeting with the Freedom Front Plus, one of the DA’s coalition partners, have placed Mokgalapa under pressure to vacate his position soon.

READ | This too shall pass: Stevens Mokgalapa on DA disciplinary action

The “De Lille clause” refers to an amendment the party adopted at its 2018 elective conference. It makes it easier for the party to recall members in government positions if they’ve “lost the confidence of the party”.

Patricia de Lille was locked in a lengthy and very public battle with the DA’s leadership during her tenure as executive mayor of Cape Town.

Mokgalapa replaced Solly Msimanga, who stepped down ahead of the 2019 general elections to lead the DA’s campaign to win Gauteng.

The previous mayor also left the city under a cloud of scandals, which included the multi-billion rand Glad Africa contract, unlawful appointments and an unhappy caucus.

Disciplinary hearing

While Mokgalapa was expected to stabilise the city and focus on delivering services to residents, it seems he has left the caucus even more frustrated, and embarrassed the party.

He is now set to face a disciplinary hearing over comments he made in the audio clip, pertaining to his colleagues and the business of governance.

News24 understands a majority of caucus members signed a petition – for Helen Zille and the DA federal executive’s attention – complaining about their mayor and asking for his removal.

The Tshwane council has spent numerous months focused on battles between the different parties, with the ANC and EFF attempting to work together to oust the DA-led coalition government.

DA interim leader John Steenhuisen confirmed to News24 that talks were under way between Mokgalapa and party leaders, both national and provincial.

“It is an ongoing process to look at how we can resolve this. The federal executive had made a decision that his matter requires a full hearing, but we are hoping to resolve this before those issues are concluded.”

While he refused to confirm whether they had asked Mokgalapa to consider resigning, he said there were a number of options on the table.

ANALYSIS | ANC and EFF need to follow due process with a little strategic flair to unseat Mokgalapa

Insiders, however, have said the mayor was told to step down or face a motion of no confidence. Sources close to the matter said he had been defiant until a meeting with several leaders on Friday.

“His intention was to return to work on Monday; he was ready to fight them because in his head just agreeing to go, is the end of his career,” said one insider from the City of Tshwane.

A national party leader said Mokgalapa had run out of luck and should resign in order to “at least” secure a soft landing as opposed to putting on a fight and finding himself completely out in the cold. The leader used Msimanga, who is now in the Gauteng legislature, as an example of what could happen if Mokgalapa agrees to go without a fight.

‘DA would allow angry caucus to remove him’ 

Steenhuisen said he hoped a resolution would be sealed early next week, which some have suggested could be an announcement of a resignation from Mokgalapa.

According to insiders, if the mayor refuses to step down and digs his heels in, the DA would allow an angry caucus to remove him via an internal motion of no confidence.

The interim leader also told News24, Zille had met with the caucus, which expressed its concerns over Mokgalapa’s prolonged stay.

“Obviously [there is] a lot of frustration and concern around the matter, it is a frustrating situation. No one wants to resolve it more than me,” said Steenhuisen.

He said the options being considered were being done with the municipality’s best interests in mind, emphasising that the DA had a progressive agenda it wanted to see through in the capital city.

While he said he did not specifically meet with the Freedom Front Plus, Steenhuisen said concern over Tshwane was being expressed inside and outside the party.

Freedom Front Plus Gauteng leader Jaco Mulder told News24 the party had asked for a meeting with the DA to have a “responsible discussion” about service delivery.

“We talked about issues, we did it very responsibly, everything was in very good faith,” said Mulder.

He told News24 the DA seemed fully aware of the challenges it was currently facing in Tshwane.

“We made them aware of worries and concerns that we have,” he said.

Mulder said there was no ultimatum given to the DA over the matter.

A 49-year-old woman was arrested at her Polokwane home on Thursday for allegedly conspiring to have her husband killed.

According to police spokesperson Captain Matimba Maluleke, the woman allegedly had marital problems and hired hitmen to kill her husband for R50 000.

“Through intelligence gathering, the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Investigation Unit uncovered the plot and immediately put to action a plan to apprehend the suspect.

“Investigations revealed that the suspect is married to a well-known businessman who also resides around Polokwane and they are on the verge of a divorce,” Maluleke said. 

Three hitmen were allegedly hired.

“The plot was foiled after she was arrested at her house on Thursday evening and she is expected to make her first appearance in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court soon. Investigations are still ongoing.”