Jennifer Ferguson.
The top sports administrator, who has been accused of rape by former ANC MP and singer Jennifer Ferguson, will welcome any criminal proceedings instituted against him, his lawyer has said.
The alleged perpetrator’s attorney, Mamodupi Mohlala-Mulaudzi, told News24 on Wednesday that he would be willing to face off against Ferguson in a court of law.
Ferguson accused the sports administrator and former politician of raping her 24 years ago at a Port Elizabeth hotel.
The rape accused has not yet commented on the allegations himself. However, he is expected to release a statement later on Wednesday.
During an interview on Radio 702 on Tuesday evening, Ferguson said legal action was one of the options she was considering.
However in a subsequent interview on Wednesday evening, Ferguson said that Jordaan does not want to confront her. Instead he is taking legal action. She said that the sports administrator could have charged her with defamation in order to ventilate the issue and clear his name.
Ferguson said that Danny is a troubled man and “I can tell that there is a lot of trouble in his family. There’s a deep wound inside himself. If only he can get a chance to stand up and say I’m wounded”
In response, Mohlala-Mulaudzi told News24: “Our client denies all allegations that have been levelled against him by Jennifer Ferguson in the strongest terms. She did indicate she intends bringing criminal charges against him. We welcome that because we believe it will be the appropriate forum to address this issue.”
During the radio show, it emerged that two other women, who have not disclosed their identities, have also accused the alleged rapist of sexually inappropriate behaviour.
Journalist Faith Daniels alleged during the Radio 702 show that, during a social gathering, a woman came forward to her and said he had attempted to rape her, but she “got away”.
Ferguson told the M&G that the focus needs to be on the woman who disclosed her story to Daniels and that “elaborate smokescreens” were being “set up to distract” the issue at hand which is that there is more than one woman who has come forward against the rape accused.
Just last week, Ferguson posted on Facebook that she would be offering the alleged rapist the opportunity to engage in a restorative justice process where there would be “no assumption of guilt” and that she was waiting for his response.
Ferguson also told the M&G that she was considering her options and needed to “analyse his denial [in his expected statement]” before deciding which option would work best.
Jennifer Ferguson has indicated that there was another woman who wanted to keep her identity hidden but still talk about her alleged inappropriate experience with the rape accused.
“The third person will come through in a protected identity. There are huge business and power interests that are being threatened. We are perceived as a honey trap, part of some hidden conspiracy. But we are guided by our own impulse to heal,” she told Radio 702 host Karima Brown.
Mohlala-Mulaudzi told News24 said that they would not address the allegations made by the other two women.
“They are faceless and we are not certain of their allegations. For now, we will address Ms Ferguson and her allegations.”
On Wednesday night in an interview on Metro FM, Jennifer Ferguson says a fourth woman has contacted her this same evening who also alleges that she was assaulted by Jordaan.
“I own my story. It’s my truth. I have no reason to lie,” said Ferguson.
She called on all young men, especially black men to come forward and set a precedent for truth.
Ferguson’s claim comes as women around the world share their stories on social media about rape and sexual assault as part of the #MeToo campaign, in the wake of allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The M&G is aware that other publications have continued to name the alleged perpetrator but his name has been removed in this article because the Criminal Procedures Act forbids a person accused of rape from being publicly named until they have pleaded to a charge. —additional reporting by Mashadi Kekana