High profile politician and senior member of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe, has sparked public outrage after using crude, sexist language to dismiss allegations of “sex-for-jobs” exploitation.
However, this has divided the views of experts and gender advocacy groups.
While campaigning in the North West ahead of the local government, Mantashe, who is the ANC chairperson, was questioned by a journalist about allegations that local municipal councillors were demanding sexual favours from women in exchange for jobs.
Mantashe dismissed the issue as an individual matter rather than an ANC issue, using explicit Xhosa term “isibumbu”, referring to female genitalia to state that he should not be dragged into the controversy.
Mantashe’s remarks spark backlash
This vulgarity drew sharp condemnation from gender advocacy groups and activists, who called for the ANC to discipline the veteran politician.
On the other side, linguistic experts said there is nothing wrong using original isiXhosa anatomical terms.
Mantashe initially resisted the backlash, feigning ignorance in a televised interview by asking, “What must I apologise for?” and arguing that his language was linguistically correct in Xhosa.
However, the ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula announced that Mantashe has apologised and that the matter has been closed following the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting on Monday.
Former ANC deputy secretary and veteran gender activist, Ambassador Thenjiwe Mtintso, who serves as a trustee for South Africa Women in Dialogue (SAWID) said the ANC should discipline Mantashe, adding that an apology would not be enough.
Mtintso said Mantashe made similar remarks previously.
ANC says Mantashe has apologised
Mantashe last year drew public criticism for remarks addressing gender-based violence, where he suggested that men should use their “God-given sticks” rather than visibly beating women during domestic disagreements.
“It is not the first and second time he is making such remarks. This is his character and we have such leaders. The ANC is the leader of society and if we are being led by the Mantashe’s of this world, then we are in trouble,” she said, adding that Mantashe should attend gender-sensitivity training to have a better understanding of gender equality.
Mtintso also called on the ANC leadership to state its position on the utterances, adding that the party’s women’s league cannot stand alone on the matter.
“The ANC should call out Mantashe because he did not represent the party and the matter cannot be closed. Even if we were to say he apologised, they should be consistent in ensuring that we really work hard and educate our people and also call out those using positions of power for sex-for-jobs,” said Mtintso.
Calls grow for disciplinary action
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri did not respond to enquiries.
Following the remarks, ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) also demanded a public apology and called for Mantashe to face internal disciplinary proceedings.
Asked if the ANCWL was also considering taking the matter to statutory bodies such as the Commission for Gender Equality and the South African Human Rights Commission, spokesperson Boitumelo Moiloa acknowledged enquiries on Thursday and Friday but had not responded by the time of publication.
Following the decision not to take disciplinary action against Mantashe, a senior ANC member said the party has strayed from its roots.
She said the ANC is now run by “bosses” who selectively enforce discipline, leaving some figures completely untouchable.
Sonke Gender Justice said while an apology is important, it cannot be the end of the matter. They called for a formal disciplinary process and a thorough investigation of the underlying sex-for-jobs allegations, including suspension if officials were implicated.
The organisation said it was also concerned that the ANC has not seen fit to issue a public statement on the matter.
Sex-for-jobs allegations require investigation
The Progressive Women’s Movement of South Africa (PWMSA) said the problem with crude language in this context is not merely that it is offensive, but that it reframes a question about coercion and economic vulnerability as a question about sex.
“Sex-for-jobs is fundamentally an abuse of power...The violence lies not in the sexual act itself, but in the coercive circumstances surrounding it.
“When a senior leader uses vulgar language to discuss such allegations, the seriousness of the abuse risks being reduced to a crude exchange about bodies rather than a discussion about exploitation. The focus shifts from structural coercion to shock value. In doing so, the economic violence experienced by women can become obscured or minimised,” the organisation said.
Senior lecturer Dr Sebolelo Mokapela, who serves as the head of the Department of African Language at the University of the Western Cape, said there is nothing wrong with using original isiXhosa anatomical terms, adding that the problem is not necessarily with the words, but with the colonial attitudes and linguistic hierarchies that have conditioned society to perceive certain indigenous African words as vulgar, embarrassing, uneducated or inappropriate.
“Indigenous African languages have endured centuries of linguistic oppression, cultural denigration and epistemic marginalisation. In the process, words that have always existed within our languages and communities have been stigmatised, while their speakers have been labelled uncivilised, backward or insufficiently educated. Consequently, some speakers have become more comfortable using transliterated, borrowed or euphemistic expressions than reclaiming the original vocabulary of their own languages,” she said.
Linguist and author Dr Xolisa Tshongolo said the debate should not focus on the word "isibumbu" itself, but rather on why it was used.
“No term is polite or rude on its own; it is the message and the intended purpose that gets evaluated in those lines. One term may be used for both to harm and to praise. Therefore, female genitals are female genitals, and they have names in isiXhosa in the same manner they have in English or in any other language,” he said.