Jordaan rape allegation taken up with Ramaphosa

For the past three years, Jennifer Ferguson has fought for justice after allegedly being raped by SA Football Association (Safa) boss Danny Jordaan. Ferguson alleged in October 2017 that Jordaan raped her at a Nelson Mandela Bay hotel room nearly 28 years ago. She opened a rape case against him in 2018, but has so far not seen any justice. Jordaan has denied the charges, says a News24 report. Ferguson and the organisation #NotInMyName have now written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Gauteng police head Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela, and the Gauteng SA Human Rights Commission head Buang Jones over the handling of sexual assault cases in SA. In their letter, the organisation said while the case was opened in Parkview, Gauteng, it has now been transferred to Gqeberha. ‘Is the South African Police Service in Gqeberha different from the SAPS in Gauteng? Did the matter die in Gqeberha? There seems to be co-ordinated silence from that time, several years ago until now. The SA Football Association even rushed to announce that it stands with Danny Jordaan. How come? We are still asking questions,’ said #NotInMyName secretary-general Themba Masango. Ramaphosa had categorised gender-based violence as a pandemic just like Covid-19. ‘How come sexual assault can be a pandemic that we do not want to address? Is it because of Mr Jordaan's influence at Safa and his proximity to politicians? We expected all allegations of rape to be taken seriously,’ Masango added.