DA Gauteng MPL Nkele Molapo has accused the party of subjecting her to an “exit attack” before throwing her out of the organisation like former leaders Mmusi Maimane and Lindiwe Mazibuko.
Molapo said this week she was disappointed with how the DA had dealt with her sexual harassment complaint against Gauteng caucus leader, Solly Msimanga.
Last week, Sunday World reported Msimanga had been accused of sexual harassment by Molapo, a complaint that the party confirmed it was processing internally but questioned its timing.
On Friday, the party said Molapo’s DA membership had been terminated after she was found guilty of leaking confidential information to EFF leader Julius Malema.
But Molapo has cried foul at how she was treated by the party. She has since withdrawn the complaint and opened a criminal case.
Molapo said the DA had taken Msimanga’s side in the complaint when all she was asking for was an investigation.
“Having worked as a provincial media manager of Gauteng for three years, I know how my party operates. There is what they call “exit attack”. You might have seen it with Mmusi, Lindiwe and many others. When you leave the DA, they don’t let things be, they attack you and try to tarnish your image,” she said.
“My reasons for the withdrawal are Solly Malatsi’s [he is just doing his job as an official party spokesperson] comment on Sunday World last week and the subsequent media statement by Mike Moriarty, in which he casts aspersions on my complaint by questioning my timing.”
Moriarty, the party’s Gauteng chairperson, said Msimanga was vindicated for taking action and laying a complaint against Molapo when they were still colleagues in Tshwane.
He said the ruling of the party’s appeal panel came at a time when Molapo publicly levelled “suspiciously timed” allegations against Msimanga.
“Mr Msimanga outrightly denies these allegations and sees them as an effort by Ms Molapo to smear his name in preemption of today’s serious finding against her, and the termination of her DA membership,” he said.
