Durban – A top DA member in the Gauteng Legislature is crying foul, saying that her party is trying to discredit her after pressing sexual harassment charges against Solly Msimanga.
A DA Gauteng Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) claims that the conduct of the party has forced her to ditch the internal process and approach the SAPS to open a sexual harassment case against Msimanga who is the party’s interim provincial leader.
This comes after Mike Moriarty, the DA’s chairperson in Gauteng, issued a statement to confirm that the MPL had opened a case against Msimanga.
What angered the complainant was that Moriarty questioned her, saying she was facing trouble with the party.
“This complaint has been lodged with the party and is being dealt with through our party’s internal processes. It is alleged that the sexual harassment occurred seven years ago.
“The timing of reporting this incident raises questions about the veracity of the complaint. Furthermore, it should be noted that the complainant is undergoing a serious disciplinary hearing,” Moriarty said in the statement.
In a rebuttal, the DA MPL said this has forced her hand.
“I will be withdrawing the internal complaint I lodged with my party. Although I expressed my confidence in our internal processes, I don’t feel the same any more. I will instead be opening a sexual harassment case with SAPS. This is in the interest of fairness and justice,” she said.
In response to the accusations, Msimanga said his woes started when he took the DA MPL to task for allegedly leaking information to the EFF – a charge she denies.
He said from there his relationship with the DA MPL soured, to the point where she recently wrote to the Gauteng Legislature and said she was not comfortable being in the same room with him.
“This is surprising coming from a person who in 2018 called me her man crush and once invited me to her birthday as a guest speaker,” Msimanga said.
The ANC caucus in the Gauteng provincial legislature joined the fray, slamming the DA for trying to discredit the DA MPL.
The ANC’s caucus spokesperson, Lesego Makhubela, said the party ignored the reality that women were under siege.
“We note with serious concern the attempt to discredit and vilify the complainant by further subjecting her to humiliation through casting aspersions on her integrity by the DA. Their statement is not only shameful and deeply regrettable but it is a reflection of how women are treated in this country each time they expose those that violate them.
“The insensitivity displayed by Msimanga and the DA show disdain and scant regard for women and victims of gender-based violence. Our country has been deeply traumatised by acts of extreme violence perpetrated by men against women and children. We are every day mourning the deaths of several women and girls who were murdered by men. For the DA to release such a reckless statement is a shocking revelation to their true values and identity,” Makhubele said on Monday.
Political Bureau