Jordaan finally breaks silence on rape claims
SOUTH AFRICAN soccer boss and a former Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Danny Jordaan has finally come out to deny rape allegations levelled against him by singer and former ANC MP Jennifer Ferguson.
Until now the soccer official has remained mum on the claims, which came to light last month after Ferguson made the allegations on Facebook and later repeated them on Talk Radio 702.
In a statement, Jordaan’s lawyer, Mamodupi Mohlala-Mulaudzi, said her client’s perceived silence in the face of such serious allegations was because of his “empathy with victims” of gender-based violence.
“In light of the scourge of gender-based violence in this country and Jordaan’s sensitivity toward the issue he had to consider carefully his response, if any, in public to the allegations made by Ms Ferguson.”
Mohlala-Mulaudzi said Jordaan had, however, after careful consideration decided to assert his innocence.
“While Jordaan supports public debate as an essential tool to highlight the issue of gender-based violence, in this case there are two opposing versions that cannot be
resolved in the media, or elsewhere, in substitution for a court of law,” said the statement, which has a Mohlala Attorneys letterhead.
“Mediation, as suggested by Ms Ferguson, runs the risk that the public will perceive that there is a cover-up away from the glare of public scrutiny… we have accordingly, as his attorneys, advised Jordaan that he must not participate in a public discourse of the allegation made against him.
“From a legal viewpoint, serious allegations of the kind made by Ms Ferguson can only be ventilated in a court of law, where the rights of all parties are protected.” Ferguson alleged the Safa president raped her 24 years ago at a Port Elizabeth hotel. She had joined the social media campaign #MeToo, which encouraged women to share their experiences and speak out against rape and sexual assault.
During a talk show on 702 on Tuesday night, it emerged that two other anonymous women, have also accused Jordaan of sexually inappropriate behaviour.
His lawyer, who called into the radio station, declined to comment on the new allegations because they were made by “faceless” individuals. Ferguson said there was clearly no intention of mediation efforts from Jordaan’s side and she was considering the legal route.