The ANC's Zizi Kodwa has denied rape allegations leveled against him. Kodwa is accused of raping a woman at a function in April 2017.
In a statement on Sunday the ANC head of presidency described the allegation as a “feeble yet dangerous attempt at political blackmail and manipulation" Kodwa questioned the validity of the letter in which this accusation was sited. The statement reads:
"On February 14, 2019 I was alerted by the Secretary General of the ANC that he had received a letter from a woman claiming [what] I view as the most grotesque attack on me and my reputation.
"In a letter, replete with false accusations, I am accused of rape, sexual assault and even drugging two women.
"At the outset, I deny these accusations with the contempt they deserve."
Kodwa then goes on to lay the blame on party factions, vowing to not give in to 'black mail and apartheid tactics'.
"Most importantly, I refuse to bow down to dirty tricks by cowards operating from their factional dark corners, using women to fight or neutralise me.
‘I refuse to bow down to dirty tricks by cowards’- Zizi Kodwa denies rape accusation
The ANC's Zizi Kodwa has denied rape allegations leveled against him. Kodwa is accused of raping a woman at a function in April 2017.
In a statement on Sunday the ANC head of presidency described the allegation as a “feeble yet dangerous attempt at political blackmail and manipulation" Kodwa questioned the validity of the letter in which this accusation was sited. The statement reads:
"On February 14, 2019 I was alerted by the Secretary General of the ANC that he had received a letter from a woman claiming [what] I view as the most grotesque attack on me and my reputation.
"In a letter, replete with false accusations, I am accused of rape, sexual assault and even drugging two women.
"At the outset, I deny these accusations with the contempt they deserve."
Kodwa then goes on to lay the blame on party factions, vowing to not give in to 'black mail and apartheid tactics'.
"Most importantly, I refuse to bow down to dirty tricks by cowards operating from their factional dark corners, using women to fight or neutralise me.
"Most tragically, I detest the use of such serious societal maladies like rape, sexual harassment and women abuse to simply achieve narrow factional and political ends. It is an insult to the women of this country and a fight against women abuse."
He further described the accusation as "orchestrated by elements wishing to turn our politics into a jungle, a place for apartheid-like dirty tricks to silence others".
"I will not rest until I find out the identities of those behind these dirty tricks they obviously learned from their apartheid masters and handlers."
Kodwa said he is seeking legal advice.
This is not the first time that the upper echelons of the ruling party ng have been shook by a sexual abuse claim. Recently party spokesperson Pule Mabe was accused of sexual harassment and was cleared by the party’s grievance panel.