Senior African National Congress (ANC) member Tokyo Sexwale is a ”destitute follower of the ANC” and a ”defeated man”, the Congress of the People’s (Cope) women’s forum in the Eastern Cape said on Tuesday.
The political mud-slinging which began at rallies this weekend has not let up since Sexwale berated the newly formed party for ”parading ‘old women’ on TV, using them as witchcraft to attract support”.
Cope has launched an official complaint against the politician-turned-businessman with the Commission for Gender Equality.
Its women’s forum described the ANC as a ”party based on fallacy”.
”We as women of Cope in the Eastern Cape feel that remarks made by destitute follower of the ANC, Mr Sexwale, are echoes of no substance, of a defeated man.
”Making reference to witchcraft in the same context or same sentence … as women of Cope just reaffirms that the ANC and its unlettered followers is a party based on a fallacy. I wonder what that says about their manifesto, maybe another folktale,” said spokesperson Zanele Pantshwa-Maqabuka.
Pantshwa-Maqabuka said Sexwale’s comments were an indication of how the ANC felt about women in the country.
”As South Africans we are all aware of how witchcraft is taken seriously among our rural counterparts and how witchcraft contributes extensively to the high statistics of crime and women abuse.
”Now the same custodian has bravely made very careless and irresponsible remarks which will be lodged in people’s minds and could possible have grave, pun intended, consequences.”
She called on all women to ”take a stand against such irresponsible behaviour from the country’s so-called leaders”.
”I want to make a call to all women to please register to vote … to make your voice heard,” Pantshwa-Maqabuka added.
Sexwale’s spokesperson Chris Vick could not immediately comment. — Sapa