South African Rugby’s MD has been ordered to go on leave following an allegation of sexual harassment against him, the Daily Dispatch reported on Thursday.
SA Rugby deputy president Mike Stofile issued the order on Johan Prinsloo on Wednesday night.
Stofile confirmed that he had been asked to sign a letter to Prinsloo after SA Rugby’s human resources department told him independent lawyers were investigating the allegation against Prinsloo, laid by a man.
In 2003, after another incident, R200Â 000 was paid to a secretary who accused Prinsloo of sexual harassment. Stofile was the first to question the pay-off.
The latest sex scandal comes amid a storm that is rocking the foundations of South African rugby’s ruling body.
SA Rugby president Brian van Rooyen is fighting for his job after five of the big unions indicated they will demand his resignation at a specially convened meeting to be held at Johannesburg International airport.
This follows the row that erupted around Van Rooyen after a series of reports revealed the contents of a secret dossier containing complaints that he had breached good governance practices.
In the latest development, Stofile was asked to sign the letter in the absence of Van Rooyen, who is overseas, and after acting board chairperson Gideon Sam refused to sign it.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Prinsloo had signalled his intention to fight the charge.
According to News24, he told reporters he was ”not the angel Gabriel” and ”could easily give a guy a hug”, but there was ”not the smallest grain of truth” in the latest allegation against him.
He told the Mail & Guardian Online on Monday that the ”investigation has already started” and said ”we should let the thing run and maybe one day we can make a movie” out of it.
Story ‘was doing the rounds’
An official in SA Rugby’s human resources division informed Prinsloo last week that a married male contract worker in the Cape IT division had laid the charge of sexual harassment.
Although the matter was supposed to be confidential, Prinsloo said he understood the story was already doing the rounds.
”Half the people in the [Cape] office already knew about it and some of the staff had even convened a meeting about it.”
Van Rooyen also heard about it while in Australia for a Tri-Nations match.
Stofile said on Wednesday night that Prinsloo had phoned him to say that he would consult his lawyer.
In December last year, Stofile — who is currently spearheading the palace revolution against the Van Rooyen presidency — sent a letter in which he used the first sexual harassment incident to illustrate his complaints of being sidelined by SA Rugby executives.
The letter was sent to former SA Rugby chairperson Theunie Lategan, Van Rooyen and former deputy president Andre Markgraaff, and copied to Stofile’s brother, Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhenkesi Stofile.
At the time, Prinsloo’s former personal assistant, Mandy Janke, told the Dispatch about a grievance notice she compiled against Prinsloo, accusing him of making remarks with a sexual connotation.
In another incident, Prinsloo allegedly insisted on referring to SA Rugby official Coris Zietsman in her presence as ”Clitoris”.
Janke said this humiliated and embarrassed her.
Prinsloo did not return the Dispatch‘s request for comment on Wednesday. — Sapa