An EFF councillor in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has been suspended from the party and will resign from the council following his appearance in court on a rape charge, the party said on Monday.

“We welcome his move to resign,” said EFF spokesperson Vuyani Pambo.

The Herald reported that the councillor handed himself over to police on Monday morning before briefly appearing in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court.

He is accused of raping a 22-year-old Nelson Mandela University student at a flat in Central in the early hours of Saturday. He was released on bail of R2 000.

He is a member of the EFF’s central command team (CCT) but his membership of the CCT has been suspended in the wake of the allegation.

Pambo said the accused councillor appeared in court on Monday and will send a letter of resignation to the council.

“We have suspended his participation in the activities of the organisation as a member of the CCT until he further clears his name,” said Pambo. 

He said the councillor made it clear that he did not take the allegation lightly.

“So, he needs to first clear his name and must also be exemplary in dealing with matters of such a nature.”

“It is not an easy thing to receive such information, to receive such news, but we welcome his move,” said Pambo.

“We know about the scourge of gender-based violence in this country, let alone rape, so we need to let the courts deal with this independently.”