The ANC in the Western Cape has called for the arrest of Bitou Deputy Mayor Nokuzola Kolwapi, after a video of her appearing to fire a weapon at a private ceremony sparked a political storm.
Kolwapi’s party, the Ikhwezi Political Movement (IPM), has issued a statement vehemently denying any wrongdoing. It accuses the ANC of exploiting a sacred cultural moment.
ANC Western Cape spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said: “She is not an ANC member. The ANC has called on law enforcement agencies to investigate… We want her arrested.”
He questioned the silence of her coalition partner, the Democratic Alliance, and claimed “She has put the lives of those around her in danger”.
Part of a private cultural ceremony
Kolwapi, however, claimed that the object in the viral video was a replica or toy gun, not a real firearm. She said that the footage was recorded during her son’s ulwaluko. The latter is the sacred Xhosa initiation rite marking the transition to manhood.
She criticised the “politicisation of a private cultural moment”. And she said the public discomfort stemmed less from the object itself and more from seeing a woman in a traditionally male-dominated symbolic role.
“Leadership, ritual authority and public symbolism have historically been framed within patriarchal norms,” said Kolwapi. She linked the incident to South Africa’s broader crisis of gender-based violence.
The act, she asserted, was a symbolic gesture of cultural identity, protection, and women’s authority. It was not a threat.
“There is no contradiction between celebrating culture and condemning violence,” she said. She described the moment as a commitment to raising sons who “respect life and reject domination.”
Challenge to women’s leadership
Kolwapi reiterated her vision for a society where cultural traditions evolve to reflect contemporary realities. And where women’s leadership is recognised without question. She concluded with a call for a South Africa “in which women do not have to protest, march, or mourn simply to feel safe”.
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