Godongwana ‘anxious to clear his name’ in sexual assault allegation but ‘respects legal process’

Enoch Godongwana had still not received any formal communication from the police regarding a complaint of sexual assault against him, according to the finance minister’s spokesperson.

This is as the South African Police Service in Mpumalanga reportedly handed over a docket to the National Prosecuting Authority, which will decide whether Godongwana will be arrested and charged with sexual assault.

A case was reportedly opened against the minister a week after he went on a private trip to Skukuza in the Kruger National Park. An employee at a lodge alleged he assaulted her while she was giving him a massage in his room.

However, Godongwana denied the claim. “I have always upheld and respected the rights and dignity of women and this allegation goes against everything I stand for,” he said.

“As much as he is anxious to clear his name, he is subject to the legal process and it is his intention to respect it,” the minister’s spokesperson Mfuneko Toyana said on Thursday.

The incident has sparked calls for Godongwana to resign as finance minister. The Economic Freedom Fighters said: “If the ANC government respected women, a minister accused of sexual violence would have resigned with immediate effect, on his own accord.”

The ANC Women’s League called on law enforcement to deal with the case swiftly. 

“Our country has increasingly become an unsafe place for women. It is unacceptable that every day there are reports of acts of gender-based violence and femicide being committed against women,” it said. 

“We encourage and support all victims of gender-based violence to speak out and take necessary legal action.”