It’s a plot by my enemies in the DA, says sacked Western Cape MEC Albert Fritz

Sacked Western Cape community safety MEC Albert Fritz told the advocate investigating sexual misconduct allegations against him that they were rooted in DA factionalism.

Jennifer Williams, who was appointed to investigate Fritz by the state attorney at the request of provincial premier Alan Winde, said Fritz denied all the allegations made against him by four young women.

“Having provided his defences to each allegation, he further alleges the allegations are politically motivated and rooted in factionalism in the DA,” Williams said in an executive summary of her findings issued by Winde’s office on Tuesday.

Fritz told TimesLIVE after his sacking he was preparing a statement in response to a lengthy announcement in which Winde said: “I am extremely angry at what appears to be verifiable incidences of serious sexual misconduct by him.”

Williams said she was asked to investigate sexual misconduct allegations against Fritz made by four young female interns/staff who were employed by his ministries during his tenure as MEC of social development and community safety.

She also investigated allegations of alcohol abuse and alleged “grooming of the complainants which relates to the creation of circumstances which enabled the sexual misconduct”.

She said she interviewed 18 people, including the complainants, collateral witnesses, Fritz and individuals he nominated.

“The complainants indicated a reluctance to participate due to concerns about their safety, job security and a strategy aimed at impugning their credibility by damaging their reputations in the media and in the communities in which they live,” she said.

“The witnesses submitted photographs, emails, videos, text messages and correspondence in support of aspects of their evidence.

“Before giving his response, MEC Fritz was provided with a summary of the specific allegations and a set of general questions arising from the investigation to provide him with an opportunity to respond to the allegations against him.

“Further information and documentation were made available by the investigator in writing and during the interviews with MEC Fritz.

“MEC Fritz provided full responses to the allegations and answered all the questions. He also provided documentation, text messages, photographs and witness statements in support of his defence.

“Further witnesses were interviewed at MEC Fritz’s request.”

Williams said she concluded the allegations against Fritz were “sufficiently credible” that a reasonable person would consider them to be true.

She said: “The individual complainants’ versions are consistent, inherently probable and corroborated in material aspects. While the individual stories differ, and this is a factor which militates against a conspiracy, there are common features to the versions of the identified complainants. These are also consistent with the evidence as a whole.

“The version put forward by MEC Fritz fails to substantively address the specific allegations made and is inherently incongruent with the evidence as a whole.

“There are numerous common threads that flow through the evidence which constitute a pattern. The evidence indicates a sustained culture of the sexual objectification of women who work in the ministry, underpinned by an indisputable power imbalance.

“The power differential favours MEC Fritz due to his age, position of authority, political connections and gender. The MEC appears to be oblivious to the power dynamics at play in his interactions with young female interns/staff.

“The selection of ‘victims’, the building of trust, the normalising of inappropriate sexually charged interactions in a work-related context, the taking of photographs of the young women and complimenting them on their appearance, the sexual comments, the unpredictable temper outbursts and public humiliation of the ‘victims’ all have the hallmarks of grooming.

“The availability of alcohol, the pressure to drink and removing young women from their comfort zone further enabled MEC Fritz’s opportunities for sexual misconduct.

“It would seem that rather than protecting vulnerable young women from that risk, they were purposefully placed in these inappropriate situations and exploited.

“The alcohol abuse is not really disputed, rather the amount consumed and who provided it is the subject of the challenge. This misses the point of how inappropriate it is to have alcohol available at every work-related event and on every work-related trip, and to drink with your juniors (often in hotel rooms).

“While the drinking may take place after the work is done, it contributes to the risk of inappropriate conduct.”

TimesLIVE