The ANC always knew the lies of its former spokesman and self-confessed fraudster Carl Niehaus would be exposed, ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe said.

And he told a local radio station this morning that the party did not know about Niehaus's chequered past when he was appointed.

"Niehaus did not confess to us," Mantashe said.

He added that the party only found out later, but because of the country's labour legislation, the ANC could not take action against him on the basis of allegations.

Niehaus is reported to have said that he did inform the ANC of the difficulties he was in before he was employed by them.

Mantashe said that it was not for the ANC to deal with the allegations about Niehaus's alleged attempted fraud while he was chief executive officer at the Gauteng Economic Development Agency, as the employer itself took steps at the time.

The ANC told Niehaus to seek counselling when it found out about his problems.

"If you ask me as Gwede, I would say he requires professional help," he told the radio station.

Mantashe said Niehaus realised the damage the allegations had done to the party since the story broke last Friday, and because of that he had resigned.

Meanwhile, Niehaus revealed yesterday that he was taking steps to reconstruct his life, including seeking psychiatric help.

Through his attorney, Ian Small Smith, he said he needed psychological counselling to help him deal with the "long-term and deeply negative effects" of his time in prison.

The former anti-apartheid activist, who also resigned his position in the ANC yesterday, was sentenced to 15 years in 1983 after being found guilty of high treason. While in prison, he was allegedly gang-raped.

Niehaus is getting help to settle his debts, which apparently amount to more than R1 million, according to his attorney.

"In order to focus on his personal tasks at hand, Niehaus has resigned his position from the ANC," said Smith.

The media was asked to respect his privacy.

The ANC confirmed it had accepted Niehaus's resignation.