Pretoria - Former Tshwane mayor and DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga has vowed to clear his name following accusations of sexual harassment levelled against him - and others he says are falsely accused.
He said he had been inundated with calls from men who said they were falsely accused of gender-based violence (GBV).
His accuser - a former party member of the executive in the Gauteng legislature - was recently axed from the DA after she leaked confidential information of the DA caucus in the Tshwane council to the EFF.
Speaking to the Pretoria News, Msimanga repeated that the accusations against him had been fabricated and expressed the intention to fight for men who might be in the same predicament.
He said since the accusations against him were made public he had been called by many men and women, who told him of their ordeals because of false accusations of sexual abuse.
Msimanga said he wanted to sue his accuser for damaging his reputation.
However, he first wanted to clear his name by undergoing a lie detector test.
While he said he abhorred GBV, he would sue his accuser as he had heard of so many cases where false accusations had ruined a person’s reputation.
“You know of the incident of the likes of Pule Mabe (former ANC spokesperson accused of sexual harassment).
“There are women who would like to use the scourge of GVB to play a political game, which might destroy lives and families and put men in danger. This is something I need to drive to its conclusion,” Msimanga said.
He refuted allegations that he had sexually abused his accuser, saying he wanted to go for a lie detector test to clear his name.
He is waiting now for a date for the test.
Part of clearing his name included opening a case of crimen injuria against his accuser at Brooklyn police station.
“This is nothing more than a political ploy by a vindictive person trying to destroy somebody’s career in life and destroying the party she had been part of until she transgressed its rules,” Msimanga claimed.
The accuser initially lodged a complaint of sexual abuse to the DA, but she subsequently withdrew it, he said.
“When she withdrew her case in the party I reinstated it so that the party can investigate thoroughly this particular issue and bring it to a closure.”
Pretoria News