Wait in Court, Shongwe hears
A Councillor at the Steve Tshwete Municipality, Cllr San-Mari Wait of the DA, has opened criminal charges against Cllr Petrus Mduduzi Shongwe of the ANC following a heated Portfolio meeting last week in which Cllr Wait claims she was humiliated and verbally abused in the most disgusting way possible.
“He said he’ll f*ck me and kill me,” said Cllr Wait. “And he kept going on about it, he was impossible to ignore. Everyone heard him, even his colleagues, Councillor Malinga, Councillor Manzini and Councillor Nkambule, to name a few,” she said.
“It was very hurtful but much more humiliating. It was scary too. We are supposed to be leaders in our communities, his conduct was totally unacceptable. I had no choice but to open a case at the Police Station even if it’s just for my own safety,” Cllr Wait said.
•The entire incident is being blown out of proportion, PR Cllr Shongwe said in his defence. He admitted an altercation with the DA Councillor but had a very different version.
“We were both late for a meeting. I have difficulty with my feet and made use of the disabled parking. The DA Councillor told the security guard not to let me in, and I reacted by asking her ‘what’s your problem?’ That’s how the fight started,” said Cllr Shongwe, amidst claims that Cllr Wait said that “black people are useless”.
“She aggravates every situation all the time, and always insists on choosing to scream, shout or interrupt. To be honest, a lot of people are getting sick and tired of her, and on that day I happened to react. The nastiest thing I said was that I will kick her,” he said.
The Middelburg SAPS confirmed that a case of common assault, which includes incidents of verbal abuse as in this case, is being investigated but that no person has yet been formally charged.
