DA federal council chair James Selfe has rubbished claims by one of its members that she was interviewed in a public toilet for a position in the Buffalo City Metro.
This comes after DA member Ntombenhle Rulumeni took the party to the East London High Court, suing it for damages worth R10m citing humiliation, undermining her dignity, and loss of income.
The Sunday Times reported that Rulumeni alleges that two party officials escorted her to a toilet at East London Golf Club in Bunkers Hill, where she was interviewed for a ward councillor position ahead of the 2016 local government elections.
Selfe denied this to the Daily Dispatch saying: “All I can say is that she was never interviewed at a public toilet however I must say that I am constrained by our legal team not to comment.”
Eastern Cape provincial DA leader Nqaba Bhanga said he had been aware of claims made by Rulumeni before he was elected into his position.“I knew about the situation and that she was taking appropriate steps. It’s not something I did not know.”
Bhanga said the alleged incident happened before his term and that of former provincial leader Athol Trollip. He said he knew Rulumeni and that she has been “very loyal in what we do”.
“I was not a leader when this happened. She told me that she had taken the matter to the human rights commission. It’s not been hidden. She has consistently said she was going to take her case to the human rights commission. The proper conclusion will be in court and the court will help us close the case,” he added.
Rulumeni joined the DA in 2011 and applied for a BCM ward council position before the 2016 local elections, she told the East London High Court last week.
Her application was rejected, with the party citing that she has lied during the interview process, Sunday Times reported.After her protest, Rulumeni was called for a second interview at the East London Golf Club. Rulumeni said two senior DA officials escorted her to the toilet, where she found a table and two chairs.
Upon her arrival, she said, officials explained the rules of the interview and gave her only five minutes to prepare.
Rulumeni said she felt humiliated by the experience. "That was a very sad day for myself. I was humiliated, and I was wondering why are they even doing this to me, because they say they are the custodians of the constitution and they are in the position of authority as DA MPs," she said.
"The actions of the DA brought into sharp focus painful memories of the treatment of black people by white people under apartheid, as all three people who subjected [me] to this humiliation were white and one of them being a male in female toilets," she said.
Rulumeni said after a few days, she was told she had failed the second interview."I'm very much disappointed with the party, because this is not what I was expecting from them.
I expected a lot from them because they presented themselves as the only party that can bring about change in SA. So, when I complained to the Human Rights Commission [I expected] that they were going to see their mistake and come forward and apologise, but instead they sent papers saying they are defending the DA MPs."
She said she was suspended from the party structures she served on, including selection panels, the Sunday Times reported...