Former ANC MP, Makhozi Khoza, has criticised ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa, for being quiet until recently about the rape of the woman known as Kwezi.
The woman, Fezekile Kuzwayo, who accused President Jacob Zuma of rape for which he was later acquitted, died in 2016.
Khoza, the leader of a new party, African Democratic Change, was in Nelson Mandela Bay on Monday to support the woman who accused a young Blue Bulls rugby player of rape.
The 19-year-old is making another court appearance in the New Brighton Magistrate's Court following his arrest several weeks ago.
Speaking to the media ahead of court proceedings, Dr Khoza said the African Democratic Change has positioned itself an unapologetic feminist political party."
She said while South Africa came from a racially divided past, it is still a very patriarchal society with women bearing the brunt of the culture of violence.
"And, when you have this kind of environment obviously women are the most ones that suffer the most. That is why we wanted to be with her because we know that in the past when Kwezi was raped, the political parties chose to be on the side of the perpetrator than the victim. Recently, the President of the ANC (Cyril Ramaphosa) came out say he always believed that Kwezi was raped."
"Now, we are saying why was he quiet, why did he have to wait for Kwezi to die. We are taking the responsibility of speaking out for these victims and we are also taking the responsibility of addressing the violent culture that is in South Africa."
Khoza said she had met with the family of the victim while also taking aim at the court system.
"I have met with the victim and I have met with the mother and I also do think that the courts are actually not very friendly to rape victims families. We are told just now that the prosecutor is only available at 11 when they were there waiting for a long time," she said.
Khoza said that "as a rape victim myself, I really feel strongly that if we don't speak out as women in authority, women who have made it in life, these women will have no role models to speak to. I was raped when I was six-years-old and I brought her the book that I wrote in 2001 because I wanted her to understand my story."
"I am here primarily for her. I want her to understand that she can still make it in life despite whatever else that has happened to her. It's not her fault," she said.
