News24 can reveal that Western Cape Community Safety MEC and provincial Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Albert Fritz was suspended following serious allegations of sexual assault that were levelled against him by young employees.

Premier Alan Winde announced Fritz's suspension late on Sunday evening without divulging the reasons for the decision.

"He allegedly sexually assaulted young female workers in his office," said a direct source who has knowledge of the suspension.

Four independent sources confirmed to News24 that sexual assault allegations were at the core of Winde's sudden move against Fritz.

"This has been known since last year," said a source. It is unclear whether criminal charges have been opened against Fritz, who is the provincial safety leader.

Winde was expected to address employees of the provincial community safety department on Monday morning. It is unclear whether more of Fritz's staff members will be suspended. 

Asked for comment, Odette Cason, an official in Winde's office, said:

"We understand that there are many questions around the suspension of Minister Fritz, however, at this stage, we cannot divulge further information on the matter, until an independent investigator has determined the full extent of the allegations and their veracity. It would be unfair to the persons who made those allegations to the premier, under requests for confidentiality, and indeed the minister too, for the premier to provide details of what is being investigated, the publication of which may well severely compromise the investigation itself."

Fritz told News24 he was unavailable to comment. This article will be updated if he provides comment. 

News24 can also reveal that the DA's federal executive, the party's highest decision-making body, was not informed of Fritz's suspension ahead of time.

In an internal communication, Jaco Londt, the DA's Western Cape chairperson, said: "The Western Cape DA notes the suspension of Minister Fritz by the premier and that an investigation will be conducted into allegations against Mr Fritz. [We] will comment more once we've been able to obtain more information."

Fritz is the DA's interim provincial leader in the Western Cape after the resignation of Bonginkosi Madikizela last year. Madikizela resigned after it was revealed that he falsely claimed on his CV that he had a BCom degree.