A convicted child rapist and convicted fraudster have been elected as mayor and deputy mayor in a municipality in South Africa.
Jeffrey Donson was found guilty of statutory rape and indecent assault and jailed while he was mayor of the Western Cape’s Kannaland Municipality in 2008 but has been re-elected back into office.
Werner Meshoa was elected as deputy mayor despite being convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice during a spell as speaker.
The election of both to high office has sparked outrage across South Africa from gender-based violence groups to charities working with child rape victims.
Mayor Donson was handed just five years behind bars for rape but appealed to the Western Cape High Court where his conviction was not overturned but his sentence reduced.
For the sex attack of a minor, Judge Lee Bozalek suspended the prison term and instead fined him £1,000 and put him on a sex offenders rehab programme.