Everywhere I go, people undress me, says humiliated Rhulashe

Amathole district municipality councillor Nanziwe Rhulashe will always live with the stigma of being dragged and stripped naked on the floor of council offices.

Rhulashe was addressing dozens of supporters who turned up in court on Friday for the case of her tormentors.

The humiliating incident of her being dragged out kicking and screaming was captured on video and went viral on social media. The abuse attracted condemnation and outrage throughout the country.


Police later arrested the municipal head of security Phele Phithi and four security guards who were involved in the attack. They faced charges of assault and malicious damage to property when they appeared at the East London magistrate’s court on Friday.

The case was postponed to May 4 for further investigation.

Rhulashe said: “What was done to me should never be done to anyone else. It was done to me and it’s a stigma that I’ll live with until I die.

“Everywhere I go, people undress me. I am humiliated, some even speak about my thighs.”

She said there is something wrong with the municipality if the municipal manager [Mthandeki Mnyimba], who ordered her to be dragged out, is still serving in his position and is expected to appoint a law firm to investigate him.

“You can’t be your own referee and the player at the same time,” said Rhulashe.


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