A top South African diplomat based in the US is facing allegations of assaulting a staff member after a consulate employee reported her following two years of the alleged abuse.
Danielle de Bruyn Grady, the South African consul general in Los Angeles - and the daughter of anti-apartheid struggle stalwart Sophia de Bruyn - has been accused of a slew of offences by one of her staff members, including assault at work, hurling derogatory remarks and unlawful demotions.
The allegations against De Bruyn Grady are contained in a nine-page official complaint filed with SA's ambassador to Washington, Mninwa Mahlangu, three weeks ago by US citizen Noemi Ordonez, who was employed as a trade & information assistant at the LA consulate.
Ordonez's lawyers are now threatening to sue both De Bruyn Grady and the South African government if Mahlangu fails to intervene in the saga, claiming official complicity in violating their client's rights.
In a letter dated July 23, LA law firm Allred, Maroko & Goldberg accuses De Bruyn Grady and the consulate of battery, assault, whistleblower victimisation and the unlawful termination of Ordonez's employment.
"The letter paints De Bruyn Grady as a bully who on one occasion got physical with Ordonez during a disagreement."
In the letter, Ordonez, who has worked at the consulate since the 1980s, alleges that the abuse began shortly after De Bruyn Grady's appointment in 2016, when she "demoted" her to receptionist from her position as a trade & information assistant, with no grounds for doing so.
"From the beginning of her appointment with the SACG [South African consulate-general] in Los Angeles, De Bruyn Grady acted improperly for a consul general," the letter reads.
"She demanded absolute and unrepentant loyalty to her as if the consulate mission was her personal kingdom. If she did not receive it, she retaliated against the 'recalcitrant' worker. She made their work environment unbearable by abusing, yelling, humiliating and ostracising them. She also threatened to ruin or end these workers' careers."Ordonez claims that in some instances, De Bruyn Grady would order her to return to work despite her being booked off sick by her doctors, or instruct her supervisors to reject her applications for sick and other types of leave.
The letter alleges that De Bruyn Grady "ordered payroll to unlawfully withhold Ordonez's entire pay with no notice or basis" while she was on sick leave.
Ordonez says she reported De Bruyn Grady to the LA Police Department when she physically blocked her from leaving a meeting and forcefully poked her in the chest several times while also pushing her away from a door and back into her seat.
According to the letter, De Bruyn Grady had to be restrained by other staff as she was "bursting" towards her employee, yelling threats and derogatory remarks.
The LAPD referred the complaint to the US state department because it has no jurisdiction to investigate Ordonez's report as it is a diplomatic matter.
Ordonez claims when she rejected a request from a South African delegation for her to apologise to De Bruyn Grady and to withdraw the battery case, she was threatened with dismissal.
South African officials at the LA consulate referred queries to Mahlangu's office in Washington.
Ndivhuwo Mabaya, a spokesperson for the department of international relations, said the matter was being handled internally and there would be no public statement until the process was complete.
Ordonez's lawyers have also declined to speak publicly about the matter...