Cape Town – The woman who has accused Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana of sexual assault at a luxury lodge at Kruger National Park, has reportedly detailed what exactly happened on the day.
The Citizen reported on Sunday that case summary documentation seen by Sunday Times indicated that the 23-year-old masseuse, an employee of Dee’s African Spa, made her first statement to the police where she revealed that the minister “fondled” her.
Writes The Citizen: “The masseuse, an employee of Dee’s African Spa, said the couple (the minister and his wife Thandiwe) booked a massage and she ‘started with the wife’.
“When “she [Thandiwe], went out to the shop”, Godongwana “touched her bumps” and directed her on “what to do on his body”.
“The case summary states that the finance minister continued to fondle the masseuse, despite her asking him to stop.”
Reports said that Godongwana earlier this week addressed the sexual assault claims brought against him, saying he did not know the plaintiff’s identity.
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He denied the accusations, maintaining that his wife was in the room during his massage and that no sexual assault could have taken place.
“I have always upheld and respected the rights and dignity of women, and this allegation goes against everything I stand for,” News24 quoted Godongwana as saying.
EWN reported on Friday that the minister said he met with the police on Thursday and was given a warning statement.
“In a statement released late on Thursday, the minister said that he was approached by the police in connection with what they said was a criminal investigation in which he had been accused of sexual assault.
“He said that he confirmed with the police that he was indeed in the Kruger National Park area when the incident apparently took place – on Women’s Day – but that he ‘in no way or at any time inappropriately touched, sexually harassed, or assaulted anyone'”, the report said.
According to The South African, Godongwana also denied allegations that he tried to silence the complainant.
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“I reject with contempt the allegation that I have attempted to silence the complainant by bribing her. As I informed the police, the identity of the complainant is unknown to me. These allegations are unfounded. In the interest of justice, I reiterate my wish that this matter be expedited,” the report quoted Godongwana as saying.
“The minister said that the sexual harassment scandal was “nothing more than a smear campaign” with selfish, political undertones.
According to Times Live, the uncle of the complainant said the family was initially hesitant to report the incident to police.
“We did not want to open a case about all these things,” the report quoted the uncle as saying.
The uncle said that while initially the family was angry enough to have “eaten him alive”, they just wanted to face Godongwana, “to talk and ask questions about why he did something like this”.
“I want to ask him why he did this when he knew this is a young child and he is an old one, who should have been thinking better for this child,” said the uncle, as per the report.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
