JOHANNESBURG - The ANC has distanced itself from its murder-accused employee, Philemon Lukhele.
Lukhele -- along with two others -- have been linked to the rape and murder of Hillary Gardee, daughter of former EFF Secretary-General Godrich Gardee.
The motive for the killing is not yet known.
The ruling party says it’s conducting an internal investigation.
"He tried to plead to me that he's not guilty and that through the process will be able to prove his innocence," said Fidel Mlombo, ANC Mpumalanga Chief Whip.
"We want to dispel the thing that the ANC is supporting Mr Lukhele and we want to ensure that people understand what we stand for and we wanted to take action against Lukhele because so it does not seem that we are condoning what he has done."
The ANC suspended Lukhele following his arrest.
