Aggressive Free State mayor told to attend anger management classes

A Free State ANC mayor who threatened a resident who complained about potholes on Facebook has been ordered to attend anger management classes for at least a year.

In addition, the ANC says, Xolani Tseletsele, the mayor of Kopanong municipality had been assigned a party veteran who would mentor him to understand the values of the ANC.

This comes after the party’s provincial disciplinary committee found Tseletsele guilty of making threatening utterances against Jagersfontein resident Kalebe Kalebe at his home in November last year.

He was also found guilty of using vulgar language during the confrontation. 

Free State ANC spokesperson Jabu Mbalula said the disciplinary committee had also ordered Tseletsele to attend political education classes that would “teach [him] the ways of the ANC and its ways of doing things, its values and its politics”.

Mbalula confirmed Tseletsele had already started attending the classes, adding that his suspension had since been lifted and he was back performing his mayoral duties. He [Mbalula] said the committee decided that his suspension should be lifted because Tseletsele could be rehabilitated.

“While the DC found him guilty, they made a determination that the mistake was not of a nature where we must throw him into the dustbin,” Mbalula said.

“He is a young man. He has the potential and can be rehabilitated. That is why the DC proposed in the report that he must undergo that programme [anger management and political classes], so that he can learn because Tseletsele is still very young.”

Tseletsele did not respond to Sowetan’s requests for comment via text.

In his Facebook post, Kalebe complained bitterly about potholes on the roads around Jagersfontein and particularly the one that leads to Trompsburg. 

However, the mayor denied his outburst was caused by Kalebe’s complaints about potholes and service delivery failures in his municipality. He said the cause of the conflict was that Kalebe had insulted his mother. 

Tseletsele previously told Sowetan that he had not only apologised to Kalebe for threatening him at his home but “everyone whom I’ve angered and disappointed”.

While Kalebe has confirmed that Tseletsele had since apologised to him and that he accepted his apology, he insisted the fight was over his constant raising of poor delivery by the mayor. 

In the video the mayor accused Kalebe of talking too much wagging his finger at him and yelled; “you will see sh**t I am telling”.

The verbal threats by the mayor, who was accompanied by an unidentified man, were made at Kalebe’s home in front of his children.

Kalebe declined to comment on the sanction given by the ANC to Tseletsele.

Chabalalaj@sowetan.co.za