A woman who accused Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi of raping her is seeking R4.1 million in damages from him, the union federation, and its biggest affiliate.
Jacqueline Phooko, who Vavi admitted having an extramarital affair with, filed papers in the High Court in Johannesburg last month seeking R3m from the Congress of SA Trade Unions for damage to her reputation.
This was after it published a statement penned by Vavi about her on its website.
She wants R600,000 from Vavi for alleging that she tried to extort money from him through the sexual harassment case, and that she was a tool of his political opponents.
She also objected to his describing her as a “nopatazana”, or “woman with loose morals”, at a rally in Sada, near Whittlesea in the Eastern Cape, in September last year.
Phooko was also suing the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) after Mbuso Ngubane, a regional secretary in KwaZulu-Natal, claimed Phooko was coerced into making up the rape allegation to damage Vavi’s political career.
According to the newspaper, Phooko argues she was branded a liar, an adulterer, a criminal, a dishonest employee, a manipulative wife, a political mole, and a person without moral standing.
-sowetanlive