Nokwazi Ngonyama, wife of South Africa’s ambassador to Japan, Smuts Ngonyama, has been accused of having assaulted her former domestic worker, Tandiswa Tokwe.
Tokwe has alleged that Ngonyama beat her with a broomstick at their residence in Tokyo on 14 July. Fearing Ngonyama, she left her position and returned to South Africa. She had been working at the residence since 2019.
Tokwe has a certificate from a clinic in Tokyo allegedly testifying to her injuries and trauma.
Ambassador Ngonyama wrote to the Director General of the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, in which he described the event as ‘a physically violent incident involving my wife and the domestic assistant’. It was by his account the result of tensions over what his wife deemed disrespectful conduct.
The letter was signed by both Ngonyamas and Tokwe. However, Tokwe told the Daily Maverick that she had done so out of fear.
Intervention by DIRCO’s human resources department led to the drafting of a proposal according to which Tokwe would be given a sum equivalent to the payment due to her for the outstanding period of her contract, on condition that she not disclose the conditions of the settlement or take any action against the Ngonyamas.
Tokwe refused this offer, and a lawyer acting on her behalf demanded the sum of money outlined in the settlement, though without surrendering any of her rights for future action.