Louisa Wynand‚ who has accused Western Cape African National Congress (ANC) leader Marius Fransman of sexual harassment‚ arrived at Parliament on Thursday morning for the start of his disciplinary hearing.
The 21-year-old from Stellenbosch‚ who said that she was employed by Fransman as his personal assistant‚ laid a charge of sexual harassment against him earlier this year.
She claimed that the incident took place when she accompanied him to the ANC's 104th birthday celebrations in Rustenburg in January. He allegedly touched her inappropriately and forced her to share a bed at a hotel in Kimberly during the trip to Rustenburg.
A party spokesman confirmed on Wednesday that the disciplinary hearing had been set down for two days.
When Wynand revealed her identity in May‚ she spoke about how the ordeal had left her life in tatters.
“My life has changed so much because of this incident and has affected not only me but my family and close friends. I‚ together with my legal team‚ am confident that I gave the police enough evidence relating to the charges I brought against Marius Fransman ‚”she said.
Fransman has maintained that he is innocent and that there are sinister motives behind the accusations.
He accused senior party member and Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom of trying to get rid of him‚ in an interview with The Times in September.
“I believe (the disciplinary process is) nothing but a factional matter … from a group which Comrade Derek Hanekom is part of. They tried to kick me out and it's wrong‚” said Fransman at a Heritage Day event in Cape Town.
Hanekom is an ANC national executive committee member deployed as a convenor to the Western Cape. He is also chairman of the party's disciplinary committee.
Wynand said that she had decided to go public with her identity “so that young women and children who find themselves in the same boat like I did‚ can see that it can happen to anyone”.
“Our rights need to be protected‚” she said. – TMG Digital/The Times
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