ANCWL ‘angry’ that David Masondo may have abused the Hawks to arrest his lover

WhatsApp messages between Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo and his unidentified former lover have seen Masondo stand accused of coercing the 30-year-old woman into getting an abortion and using his position as deputy to ensure she was pounced on by the Hawks when she agreed to let him pay for her therapy.

The ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) also said in a statement on Sunday that they were “angered by allegations that Masondo used his influence and state resources to settle a personal score with former lover by having her arrested for extortion”.

ANCWL secretary-general Meokgo Matuba said: “No one must use state resources to settle personal scores, particularly against women, as that is another form of silencing women. This tendency will plunge our country into Banana Republic where the law is used by those with influence to silence the victims.”

They said they would take into account the principle of innocent until proven guilty, the ANCWL was “resolute in supporting women who are victims of harassment”.

“The ANC must engage the Independent Police Investigative Directorate to investigate the alleged used of Hawks [sic] by Cde Masondo.”

According to a special report earlier by the Amabhungane Investigative unit, who are in possession of communication between the pair, it seems as though Masondo offered the woman money to broker peace between them after an ugly turn of events in their relationship.

Masondo is married to someone with whom he shares two children.

“The messages dating from August also show the woman dismissing the offer of money several times,” reports the publication.

She seems to have accepted the money at some point as she was arrested outside her home in northern Johannesburg on Saturday, August 17.

This after she accepted a bag of cash containing R40,000 from men she thought to be Masondo’s representatives. Instead, they were actually undercover officers.

She spent the weekend behind bars before being released without appearing before a magistrate and described that ordeal as “one of the most violent acts I have experienced”.

According to her lawyer Rudi Krause, the woman has denied Masondo’s allegations, labelling them false and tenuous and countered them by alleging that they were involved in a romantic relationship that became emotionally and physically abusive.

“The senior public prosecutor declined to prosecute and referred the matter back to the investigating officer for purposes of further investigation…” said Krause in an emailed statement sent to City Press.

Although the deputy minister’s lawyer Victor Nkhwashu has advised his client not to comment as the police investigation is ongoing, Nkhwashu called the woman’s allegations “opportunistic, malicious and spurious”.

Nkhwashu has labelled her allegations “a knee-jerk reaction also aimed at tarnishing and portraying our client as a violent person against women through the media in order to divert the public attention from the charges of extortion, intimidation and harassment against her”.

Charges were laid after a sting operation by the Hawks, who are mandated to target serious organised crime, serious commercial crime and serious corruption.

Hawks spokesperson Captain Ndivhuwo Mulamu told the publication the sting was authorised by a director of public prosecutions “as per strict procedures” and that “we do not take sides, we simply investigate the facts”. Mulamu claimed he could not give any further details as doing so would compromise the investigation.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said the NPA gave instructions for further investigations, after which the investigating officer should return the docket to the NPA for a decision.

The money she has been accused of trying to extort from Masondo is reportedly part of cash he had been paying for her to attend counselling sessions to remedy severe depression she reportedly suffered because of an abortion she had, allegedly at his insistence, earlier this year.

She also accused the gynaecologist Masondo took her to of not informing her about the implications of the procedure, which left her traumatised.

She reported the gynae to the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and laid a charge against the doctor at the police station.

President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Masondo as deputy minister in May this year. He is also the head of the ANC’s OR Tambo School of Leadership at Luthuli House.

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