The Moodey saga
3 September 2020
Note: Following the press conference held by the DA earlier today, please see my statement below.
For once, I am in agreement with the now former Gauteng DA Provincial Leader, John Moodey, in his explanation for his resignation from the party yesterday, being, inter alia, as a result of the fact that “he is facing charges for standing up against a senior Parliamentary Leader in a Sex for Jobs scandal.”
Moodey’s resignation from the Democratic Alliance, has raised a number of questions in the public, wild untested one sided accusations in the media, half-truths and dangerous speculation. Let me lay bare the facts.
Being a victim of the alleged conduct which resulted in Moodey facing serious charges by the party’s Federal Legal Commission (FLC), I believe the onus is on me to provide clarity, and that, as a result of his resignation, I can no longer rely on the internal processes of the party to defend my honour.
John Moodey has played a major role in what is fast becoming known as the “Sex for Jobs Scandal”, in which he attempted to destroy my political career and personal reputation, not for the first time. His resignation comes in the midst of the party’s FLC attempt to conduct a hearing, having already investigated the matter and recommended his suspension from the party pending a final disciplinary decision.
The FLC has evidence, including a recorded discussion of Moodey, to support allegations that he and two others attempted to intimidate two young councillors in Ekurhuleni (which includes my constituency) to sign fraudulent affidavits to the effect that I, in my capacity as chairperson of the regional candidates selection panel, tried to get them both to perform sexual favours for me in exchange for me promising to ensure that they were ranked in an electable position on the party’s lists for the 2016 Local Government Elections (LGE). In return for signing such affidavits, the two councillors were guaranteed electable positions on the party’s Ekurhuleni list for next year’s LGE.
Nothing could be further from the truth. These brave young councillors refused to give in to this intimidation by the province’s most senior member and reported him, backed by substantial evidence, to influential party representatives. As an openly gay person myself, Moodey allegedly committed another cardinal sin: he targeted two vulnerable homosexual young men
in a homophobic attack, aimed at defaming me. He didn’t count on two tough young Liberals fighting back.
Moodey has a history of trying to undermine my credibility in the DA, due to his vehement ideological commitment to race-based nationalism in opposition to my well-known and strident classic Liberal approach to principles and policies of the party. He has still not faced any consequences for previously and repeatedly accusing me publicly of being responsible for leaking confidential information out of the Federal Executive Committee, on which I serve as deputy federal chairperson of the party.
With his resignation, Moody has escaped justice in the party, but not outside of it. I will be launching legal action against him for defamation of character. I do not intend to allow this besmirchment of my name to hang around in people’s minds. I am a founder member of both the Democratic Party in 1989 and the Democratic Alliance in 2000. My good name – and that of the party – is of utmost importance.
More importantly, the truth must prevail. I will be chasing the truth in a court of law.
Issued by Michael Waters, DA Federal Deputy Chairperson, 3 September 2020
