HEATED: PMC leader Marius Fransman and PA member Fernando Williams squared up at Parliament
Image: Screenshot/Supplied
PEOPLE'S Movement for Change (PMC) leader Marius Fransman and Patriotic Alliance (PA) member Fernando Williams have opened cases of assault and intimidation against each other following a heated confrontation at Parliament.
The altercation happened at the parliamentary precinct on Wednesday, 19 August, shortly after a sitting of the National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee on Police.
Video footage posted by Williams shows him approaching Fransman and confronting him about sexual assault allegations involving Fransman’s former personal assistant.
Fransman blocks the recording with his hand and can be heard saying: "Ek gooi sommer daai phone weg."
Williams wysed: “Jy my phone weggooi? Weet jy hoe hard sal ek jou donner. Klap my phone uit my hand uit, dan wys ek jou hoe gaan jy grond toe.
At the time of the altercation, Williams was a DA member.
In the video, Fransman can be heard telling Williams: “Die DA sê vir my hulle is skaam vir jou.”
Williams has since joined the PA, with his party membership officially announced by the PA’s Cape Town mayoral candidate Cheslyn Daniels on Facebook on Thursday, 26 August.
NEW TEAM: Fernando Williams (left) with PA mayoral candidate Cheslyn Daniels
Image: Cheslyn Daniels/Facebook
Fransman has hit back at Williams, describing him as an “unsavoury character”.
“He was one of the vuilbek social media influencers that the DA used to bad-mouth the political opposition.
“I opened a case of intimidation against him at Cape Town Central Police Station the following day,” Fransman told Daily Voice.
The confrontation appears to have centred on a controversial case dating back to 2016, when Fransman was accused of sexually assaulting his former personal assistant, Louisa Wynand.
Wynand opened a sexual assault case against Fransman at Sun City Police Station in January 2016, alleging that he sexually assaulted her while the two were travelling to the ANC’s anniversary celebrations in Rustenburg, North West.
Fransman denied the allegations. The matter sparked a political storm, with Fransman being suspended by the ANC pending an investigation.
The ANC’s integrity commission later found Wynand’s evidence convincing, saying it was “more likely to be true than not”. Fransman was subsequently found guilty of misconduct by the ANC’s disciplinary structures and suspended from the party for five years.
The criminal case followed a separate process.
The National Prosecuting Authority initially declined to prosecute Fransman, but announced in December 2018 that it would institute criminal proceedings against him.
Fransman was charged with sexual assault and two counts of crimen injuria and appeared in the Kimberley Magistrate’s Court. The case did not result in a criminal conviction.
In September 2019, the NPA confirmed that the charges had been withdrawn after the parties reached a mediation agreement.
Speaking to Daily Voice, Williams defended his conduct during the altercation.
“I have tried to engage him on this sexual assault case on various occasions. I saw it fit to confront him there at Parliament.
“The people must know the character who they plan on voting for, who they choose to call their leader.
“This so-called leader does not have respect for our people, especially our women.”
Western Cape police could not be reached for comment.
