By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The National Prosecuting Authority has sent the docket involving Enoch Godongwana back to police in Mpumalanga to allow them to obtain a statement from the finance minister.
Police spokesperson Selvy Mohalala says the docket has been returned to the SAPS with an instruction of obtaining a statement from the victim.
“The docket has been returned to us with an instruction that we must go and obtain the warning statement from that prominent person. That is where we are now, to go and obtain the statement.
“After that we will submit the statement, and after that we will go and submit the docket again to the NPA for a further decision.”
Mohlala said earlier that police had taken all statements necessary for the matter.
He said: “We have gotten all the necessary statements without divulging what we have. We have taken it to the NPA on Monday, and we are waiting for the green light from them.”
This was after a staff member at a Kruger National Park vacation spot opened a case of sexual assault against Godongwana, claiming that he assaulted her while she was giving him a massage in his room.
Godongwana has denied the allegations but has not spoken any further on the matter.
“Minister Godongwana categorically denies this allegation. At the time of the alleged incident, the minister was in his room together with his wife, who said there is no basis for the allegations,” said his spokesperson, Mfuneko Toyana.
It has been reported that the matter will be discussed by the ANC’s integrity commission at its next sitting.
Meanwhile, the EFF issued a statement shortly after the story broke, saying that Godongwana would have resigned with immediate effect if he respected women.
“If the State President, Cyril Ramaphosa, could just pretend to uphold his oath of office, he would have fired his Minister of Finance. But South Africa is governed by patriarchal and misogynistic filth that it embeds in every aspect of our society.
“Gender-based violence and femicide will continue to flourish because those in power are the forefront perpetrators of these crimes. If it is not a sitting head of state, Ramaphosa, torturing his woman domestic worker, it is his Minister of Police normalising the rape of women by men with unprovoked utterances that women are lucky to be raped once, and now a Minister of Finance [allegedly involved in] sexual violence against a woman worker,” the party said.
NotInMyName Secretary-General Themba Masango said the minister should vacate office until the matter is dealt with.
“We are aware that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is yet to formally hear from the police on the charges of sexual harassment opened against him, even though he has categorically denied the allegations. We are appealing to the minister’s conscience, and urge him to vacate his public office until this matter has been dealt with,” said Masango.