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Women’s Month kicked off on a bad note for Tirry Maqanda-Louw, a female senior director in the department of correctional services, who was allegedly throttled by her superior, Western Cape deputy regional commissioner Freddie Engelbrecht, in his Cape Town office.
Maqanda-Louw confirmed the attack and said she lodged a complaint with the department.
“I can confirm that I was attacked in the office, but I can’t say anything further because policy does not allow me to say any further,” she said.
Engelbrecht, however, denied the allegations, saying that he did not assault anyone.
A departmental worker who witnessed the assault said an argument broke out between the pair who were in Engelbrecht’s office and co-workers were alarmed by loud screams coming from the office.
“We rushed to Engelbrecht’s office only to find him clinging onto Maqanda-Louw’s neck. A senior official had to pull Engelbrecht off Maqanda-Louw,” said the source.
Another employee who also witnessed the incident said despite witnesses being in the room, “Engelbrecht refused to let go of Maqanda-Louw until Provincial Commissioner Delekile Klaas came and spoke to both of them”.
When called for comment Klaas said he could not deny or confirm that the incident happened.
Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said that the case was lodged and the department is in the process of resolving this matter as soon as possible.
He said that an internal investigation was underway.
“The department has always and will continue to address issues of obvious and subtle bias against women. Hence the rollout of programmes designed to empower women with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about change,” Nxumalo said.
National spokesperson for the Justice and Correctional Services department, Chrispin Phiri, said disciplinary action would be taken if Engelbrecht was found guilty.
This is not the first time that Engelbrecht has been at the centre of controversy.
In 2016, he was part of a racial row where he was accused of trying to agitate sanctions against South Africa over the government’s employment equity laws.
It was reported that he travelled to the United Nations in Switzerland with trade union Solidarity, stating that he was an observer when he was a part of the team presenting the matter.
This was after the Constitutional Court ruled that the department had unfairly discriminated against seven coloured prison warders from the Western Cape by refusing to promote them, citing national demographics in its application of employment equity.
