WATCH | Amathole councillor dragged screaming from her office

A senior ANC councillor from the Amathole district municipality was assaulted and dragged, kicking and screaming, from her office by armed men on Monday.

Five people have been arrested, including the district’s two security personnel.

The chaotic scenes, captured on videos, took place at the district’s headquarters in Chiselhurst, East London.

The victim was strategic planning and management portfolio committee head Nanziwe Rulashe.

The Dispatch understands that three of the alleged attackers were not municipal employees.

The assault took place in the view of other municipal officials.

Rulashe said the incident took place on Monday moments after a heated strategic planning meeting at their offices.

Based on one of the videos seen by the Dispatch, those arrested  allege the attack was sanctioned by municipal manager Thandekile Mnyimba.

The videos went viral on social media on Monday. Three unidentified people, two men and a woman, were seen storming into Rulashe’s office and ordering her to vacate the office.

When she refused, they threatened to remove her forcefully.

She asked them who had sent them, and they told her they had been instructed by Mnyimba.

Rulashe says none of the people in the office knew who they were.

In another video, a screaming Rulashe could be seen being dragged by the two armed men through her office, with her underwear exposed, while shocked municipal officials begged for mercy.

In one of the videos, one of the two men could be seen slapping Rulashe, who then retaliated and fought back, while screaming and asking: “Why are you abusing me like this? What have I done to deserve such abuse?”

Nearby officials could be heard calling for the unidentified men, who were later joined by two ADM security guards, to stop assaulting and dragging Rulashe.

Rulashe says her Rolex watch was broken during the confrontation.

Speaking to the Dispatch while consulting a doctor, Rulashe said the incident happened after she had had a misunderstanding with one of the district’s senior administrative bosses, her administrative counterpart.

She said she had tried to meet the official since she took over the portfolio after the local government elections, but she had refused to meet her, “saying she does not account to me, but to the municipal manager”.

The official cannot be named as she could not be reached for comment by deadline on Monday.

Rulashe says she went to a meeting with the official and others on Monday morning.

“I had been asking to meet her since I assumed office so that she could brief me about the department’s programmes, but she kept throwing me from pillar to post.

“Recently I wrote to her, pleading for a meeting, but she wrote back telling me that she does not report to me, but to the municipal manager.

“When we got to the meeting today, I asked that it be adjourned and for her to meet me before the meeting could proceed.

“She promised to come to meet me at my office at 11am, but as I was waiting for her, these three unknown people stormed in and threatened to remove me.

“They told me they had been instructed by the municipal manager.

“Two of them had guns. None of the people in the office knew who they were, or where they were coming from.

“I believe that they were just hired guns who were here to intimidate me, possibly because of our political differences in the region and province,” Rulashe said.

The councillor, who has been at the municipality for the past 11 years, called the police who arrested the five while they were still on the municipal premises.

“I was later escorted to the Cambridge police station where a case of assault was opened and the five charged.

“What happened to me was shocking, embarrassing, painful and a glaring abuse of a woman. Basically this was gender-based violence.

“I have been left traumatised and I believe it was politically motivated.

“The fact that I was dragged on the floor, with my panties and buttocks in full view of all present, shows that I was abused as a female and action needs to be taken against the perpetrators.”

Rulashe said she had been injured during the commotion and had a swollen face.

The Dispatch understands that police were also looking at questioning Mnyimba about the alleged incident, with Rulashe confirming that she had also opened a case against him.

Mnyimba could not be reached for comment late on Monday as both his phones were on voicemail, while municipal spokesperson Nonceba Madikizela-Vuso failed to respond to sent questions, despite promising to do so.

Provincial police spokesperson Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli was unable to comment at the time of deadline.

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