Family of Godongwana's accuser breaks silence

The uncle of the woman who has accused finance minister Enoch Godongwana of sexual assault told TimesLIVE the family was initially hesitant to report the incident to police.

Instead, they wanted to discuss “face-to-face” with Godongwana what had happened to the 23-year-old woman, who gave the minister a massage at the exclusive five-star Kruger Shalati hotel in Skukuza on Women’s Day, August 9.

“We did not want to open a case about all these things,” he told TimesLIVE from his modest home in Bushbuckridge.

The man who cannot be named to protect the identity of his niece, who in turn cannot be named as the victim of an alleged sexual offence, said while initially they were angry enough to have “eaten him alive”, they just wanted to face Godongwana, “to talk and ask questions about why he did something like this”.

“I want to ask him why he did this when he knew this is a young child and he is an old one, who should have been thinking better for this child.”

Godongwana has vehemently denied the allegations against him, insisting his wife was in the room during his massage and that no sexual assault could have taken place.

The uncle said his niece had reported the alleged assault to her employer, Dee’s African Spa, after it happened.

“They [the employer] did research about this. They discovered this is the truth. They called [her grandmother] and brought her to Kruger National Park.”

After that, the uncle heard that a decision was made to open a case.

“Most of the community does not know. We are very protective of her. We do not want anything to happen to her.”

The masseuse has worked at the spa for a year according to her family, who say this was her first job.

The case was opened with the police three days after the alleged assault. The matter was investigated by Mpumalanga police’s family violence, sexual offences and child protection unit and a docket was handed over to the National Prosecuting Authority for further direction.

The woman’s grandmother, whom TimesLIVE interviewed shortly after the police arrived at the family’s home to take a second statement from the masseuse, said the authorities needed to be allowed to do their work.

Seated on a couch in her lounge, next to her petite granddaughter who did not want to speak, the family was uncomfortable talking about what happened.

“It is painful. It affects me,” the grandmother said.

In a statement on Thursday, Godongwana vehemently denied the allegations.

“I confirmed to the SAPS official that I indeed was in the Kruger Park area on August 9. I repeated my previous assertion, that I in no way or at any time inappropriately touched, sexually harassed, or assaulted anyone.

“I am relieved to have finally been contacted by the police and given the opportunity to hear what I am being accused of. I am also glad to have the opportunity to place my denial on record. I am looking forward to the necessary legal processes unfolding. It is in the interests of all those involved for the matter to be resolved speedily, with due regard for the dignity and privacy of the complainant and myself.”

He rejected allegations that he had attempted to silence the complainant by bribing her.

“It is unfortunate that these allegations are being used as nothing more than a smear campaign against me, fashioned to achieve narrow and selfish political ends.

“It is terrible and hurtful for any woman to be on the receiving end of such a traumatic experience. I reject the abuse of women in the strongest terms. I will never be party to such a thing.”

While the Skukuza camp has a massage spa on the premises, Dee’s African Spa, which is based in Hazyview, brings its beauticians to clients’ rooms after they make requests through the Skukuza camp’s reception desk.

A Dee’s African Spa masseuse, who did not want to be named, said guests asked for their room services because of privacy concerns. 

“It is not something that is strange,” she said while waiting outside a room at Shalati Lodge where the Godongwanas had been staying. Dee’s African Spa owner Dineo Molefe said: “The matter has been reported to the law. We are giving our staff member full support. I cannot comment any more than that. We are sitting and waiting [for the investigation outcome].”

Asked when the incident was first reported to the spa’s management and when management helped their staff member to report the alleged assault to police, Molefe said everything had been reported.

Meanwhile, gender-based violence activist advocate Brenda Madumise-Pajibo said the only way to successfully prosecute a sexual harassment case was following a “trauma-informed” investigation which the victim should be able to trust. Asked whether the time it took a victim to report a case made any difference, she said it was advisable to report a sexual assault case immediately to avoid evidence being compromised. “Equally once the case has been reported the expectation is that it will be investigated immediately and seamlessly,” she said.

“However, most victims of sexual violence do not report such to police for many justifiable reasons, chief among them being the process of getting the victim to make an official report is the first hurdle-where you are treated as an accused rather than a victim. You are subjected to condemnation, ridicule and abuse.”

TimesLIVE

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