Activists call for new impetus in Jordaan rape investigation
#NotInMyName wants the Safa president to step aside as the rape allegations against him are investigated.
PRETORIA, April 09 (ANA) – Civil rights movement #NotInMyName has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, provincial chief of the SAPS in Gauteng Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela and Gauteng head of the SA Human Rights Commission Buang Jones, demanding action on the rape allegations levelled against beleaguered SA Football Association boss Danny Jordaan by former African National Congress (ANC) MP Jennifer Ferguson.
“Back in 2018, Ms Jennifer Ferguson laid a criminal charge against Safa president Danny Jordaan. At the time, we at #NotInMyName joined South Africans from different walks of life who called for speedy justice and demanded accountability from Mr Jordaan. In narrating her ordeal, Ms Ferguson made it clear that she had tried in vain to engage Mr Jordaan for a mediation process. She was seeking closure,” said #NotInMyName secretary-general Themba Masango on Friday.
“We have heard the South African Police Service making subtle noises about the matter being transferred from Parkview police station in Johannesburg to Port Elizabeth. Is the South African Police Service in Gqeberha different from the SAPS in Gauteng? Did the matter die in Gqeberha?”
Masango charged that there seems to be “co-ordinated silence” on the matter since it was reported in 2018.
“The South African Football Association even rushed to announce that it stands with Danny Jordaan. How come? We are still asking questions,” said Masango.
He said in the letters to Ramaphosa, Mawela and Jones, the civil rights movement also voiced displeasure over the handling of sexual assault cases in South Africa.
“President Ramaphosa himself has categorised gender-based violence as a pandemic while we are also dealing with Covid-19. How come sexual assault can be a pandemic that we do not want to address? Is it because of Mr Jordaan’s influence at Safa and his proximity to politicians? We expected all allegations of rape to be taken seriously,” said Masango.
“At this stage, issues of sexual assault are raised sharply only in seminars, boardrooms and conferences, but often with little or no action after words and speeches. That is abnormal in a society afflicted like ours.”
He said #NotInMyName is now demanding to know what investigation has been carried out so far and where it stalled.
“In other cases of rape allegation, we have seen the SAPS making quick arrests. There is no attention being given to this matter, and that is very worrying,” said Masango.
The civil rights movement is calling for Jordaan to “step aside” from his influential post at Safa while the investigations are conducted.
“Mr Danny Jordaan, as someone who occupies a very important and influential position in the country, must step aside from his office as proper investigations are conducted into the matter. Like other victims of crime in this country, Ms Ferguson must be afforded the engagements and empathy she has been seeking from the South African Police Service and the courts,” said Masango.
In October 2017, Ferguson alleged that Jordaan had raped her at a Nelson Mandela Bay hotel room 25 years ago. She laid a charge of rape against Jordaan in March 2018 in Johannesburg.
Jordaan, through his attorneys, has denied the repeated allegations of rape by the singer Ferguson, labelling her motives as “deeply suspect”.
In 2018, Jordaan’s attorneys said despite numerous attempts to contact authorities, including two letters directed to the South African Police Service, they were unable to determine any information about the whereabouts of the docket.
Despite the recent public outcry for Jordaan to step down after Bafana Bafana failed to qualify for yet another Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament, the soccer boss has reportedly dug in his heels and said he will not quit.
Instead, it was announced last week that newly appointed Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Dr Patrice Motsepe has appointed Jordaan as his adviser in charge of sport and marketing.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher