Gauteng EFF provincial chairperson Nkululeko Dunga has been caught at the centre of “sex-for-deployment” allegations that have the potential to soil his image ahead of the much-awaited May 29 elections.
The allegations came to the fore when Tshwane regional secretary Tshegofatso Masha-bela Starbus opened a case of defamation of character against Dunga’s confidante, Lindiwe Masilela, at the Brooklyn police station in Pretoria last month.
Starbus opened the case after Masilela claimed on several Facebook posts that she moved her way to the top by sleeping with Dunga, who is also the MMC for finance in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.
She also said Masilela labelled her a witch.
“Tshegofatso Mashabela dates people in power. It has helped you with deployment because your sex spoke for you in this province, but no more, Nkululeko Shaya,” reads one of the posts.
In a police statement, which we have seen, Starbus alleged that Masilela instructed indivi-duals to create counterfeit Facebook accounts for the express purpose of disseminating libellous statements about her.
“The Facebook profiles have been used to circulate false accusations, labelling the complainant as a ‘witch’ and maliciously attacking the character of the complainant with various unfounded claims,” read the statement.
Speaking to Sunday World, Starbus said Masilela called her a witch and also accused her of being involved in a furtive dalliance with Dunga.
Starbus said Masilela’s allegations that she was having an affair with Dunga caricatured and portrayed her as a woman of loose morals.
She further said she was dumbfounded by the allegation because she, like many other party members, believed that Masilela and Dunga knew each other in a biblical sense.
“It was surprising when she said I’m dating him,” she said.
Starbus also said that the claims that she engaged in horizontal gymnastics with Dunga almost ruined her relationship with her significant other.
“ I showed my person the posts and explained to him that there was no iota of truth in what these people said, and he understood. He knows that I will never date the fighters (EFF members),” she said. Claims that she practised witchcraft also disturbed her, she said.
Starbus said she opened the case against Masilela after she feigned surprise when she confronted her about the statements.
This because she wanted the police to conduct thorough investigations, apprehend the true culprit, and bring them to justice.
She said she later withdrew the case after a prominent EFF member of parliament, Mbuyi-seni Ndlozi, convened a meeting between them in which he hauled Masilela over the coals.
“The matter was resolved internally thanks to commissar Ndlozi,” she said.
Attempts to solicit comments from Masilela and Dunga drew a blank.
