Sexual offence claim rocks deputy’s office

The Office of the Deputy President has strongly dismissed allegations that it shielded spokesperson Vukani Mde from facing consequences over a sexual harassment complaint lodged against him.

This follows a report by the Sunday World newspaper on Sunday claiming Deputy President Paul Mashatile and his Chief of Staff, Mduduzi Mbada, were protecting Mde from answering to allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace.

According to the publication, a senior female staffer directly reporting to Mde lodged a complaint in August last year about his unwelcome sexual advances. The woman accused Mde of sending inappropriate messages to her work phone, passing unwanted comments about her personal life and looks, and proposing a romantic relationship while giving work instructions.

In response, the Office of the Deputy President said in a statement that the Chief of Staff had already set in motion a process to suspend Mde after being briefed about the sexual harassment allegations. The office claims a letter of intention to suspend Mde was drafted and hand-delivered to him.

The statement revealed Deputy President Mashatile was aware of the ongoing internal investigation into the staffer’s grievances against Mde. Mashatile believes established procedures should be adhered to in dealing with the matter.

The Office of the Deputy President condemns all forms of gender-based violence targeted at women and undertakes to provide updates on this issue. It maintains that employees should be protected against any victimization.