Social development minister Sisisi Tolashe on Wednesday dropped a bombshell before parliament’s portfolio committee of her former domestic worker refusing to be coerced to drag the minister to court.
The voice note of Phindile Ntethe reveals how former social development spokesperson Lumka Oliphant recruited Nthethe for a consultation with a lawyer to fight against Tolashe against another helper.
However, the full recording which was only played in part during the portfolio committee reveals that Nthethe was being coerced by Oliphant and former chief of staff Zanele Simmons, both of whom have since been fired from the department.
Tolashe points finger to Oliphant, Simmons
Tolashe affirmed why she believed that Oliphant and Simmons were behind an ocherstrated campaign to malign her name in the public domain.
Nthethe in the recording flatly refuses the offer by Oliphant to be involved in a litigation against the minister saying she will not fight other peoples battles.
She offers her opinion that she believes that the whole saga, including the media stories about the minister, are Simmons’ way of getting one back against Tolashe after their infamous fallout.
She goes on to state categorically that she wants nothing to do with fighting Simmons’ war and accuses her of having never seen anything wrong when she was still Tolashe’s bosom friend.
“You want us to go to court? Does Zanele (Simmons) understand that if we go there she will also have to be involved?,” says Ntethe in the audio shared with Oliphant via communication platform WhatsApp.
‘Simmons was the middle person’
“And I am not even saying Tolashe is on the right. But we view this issue from all angles. Tolashe has never communicated with me about money or anything; the central figure I communicated everything with is Zanele (Simmons). She was the middle person.
“I am now shocked to see Tolashe splashed all over news media in whatever is going on. And I worry because she is an old woman and whatever she did to us, Zanele (Simmons) was part and parcel of it all because that is the person we communicated with,” she goes on.
“If I were to litigate, the only person I can litigate against is Zanele (Simmons) because I have never communicated anything with Tolashe. I was fired because of Zanele and that is why I only served a year of my five year contract.”
‘Simmons wanted me out of job’
Nthethe alleges that it was Simmons who cooked up a ploy accusing her of dating police officers.
Simmons had apparently worked this plot to drive Ntethe out of her job in order to place her own family members.
“But now that she is fighting Tolashe, she wants me to assist her when she never fought for me? I will not go against Tolashe in the court of law with a senior citizen,” Ntethe continues.
“I was raised to respect my elders and as a Christian, you cannot do things that go against Christian values. Zanele must sober up and look at his matter from all angles, she must fight her battles alone and not involve us former workers of Tolashe.
“She must leave us alone because she drove us out of work. Tolashe is being haunted by things they did together. It makes no sense that Zanele is dragging her to court, it is like she wants to see the minister drop dead. That woman is old, she must be left alone.”
‘This was cooked long ago’
Tolashe, after wrapping up her testimony and playing part of the voice note, offered her opinion on Simmons and Oliphant.
“On the matter of Ms Lumka Oliphant and Ms Zanele Simmons…the members here confirmed that their phones are full with information they were getting from officials about matters that were under discussions in the department. We appealed to members to allow us to bring these member here procedurally and give us guidance and counselling.
“It is like we are sitting with something that was cooked long ago that is now coming at play at his time, which all of us, especially me, was not aware of. My children and family are being haunted by journalists wanting this or that, it now bothers on intimidation but I will deal with that.”
- Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe revealed in parliament that her former domestic worker, Phindile Ntethe, refused to be coerced into suing her, exposing an orchestrated campaign against her.
- Voice recordings show that former social development spokesperson Lumka Oliphant and ex-chief of staff Zanele Simmons pressured Ntethe to join litigation against Tolashe; both Oliphant and Simmons have been fired.
- Ntethe accused Simmons of previously orchestrating her dismissal by falsely accusing her of inappropriate behavior to install family members in her job.
- Ntethe stated she would not sue Tolashe, a senior citizen, citing respect for elders and Christian values, and claimed Simmons was the real antagonist behind the disputes.
- Tolashe believes the controversy was a long-planned internal sabotage involving Oliphant and Simmons, which has caused intense media scrutiny and family distress.
