Zuko Komisa
- Bitou Municipality Deputy Mayor and IPM leader Nokuzola Kolwapi has dismissed a viral video of her firing a weapon, stating the item was a toy gun used during a traditional Xhosa initiation ceremony.
- Kolwapi labelled the outcry a “politically motivated” attack by rivals and argued the backlash reflects a patriarchal discomfort with women occupying spaces of ritual authority.
- The politician defended the act as a “transformative declaration” aimed at reclaiming female power amidst South Africa’s ongoing crisis of gender-based violence.
Bitou Municipality Deputy Mayor and the leader of the Ikhwezi Political Movement (IPM), Nokuzola Kolwapi, has hit back at critics following the circulation of a social media video showing her discharging what appears to be a firearm.
In a formal statement released on Monday, Kolwapi clarified that the item was a replica toy gun used during her son’s ulwaluko (Xhosa initiation ceremony).
Kolwapi condemned the backlash as a politically motivated attack by the ANC and local community leaders.
She argued that the controversy stems from patriarchal discomfort with a woman occupying a space of ritual authority, asserting that her actions were a “declaration” that power held by women can be transformative.
The IPM President linked the symbolic gesture to the broader crisis of gender-based violence in South Africa.
She stated that the act represented “taking back power” and reclaiming cultural identity, framing it as a message that women are custodians of tradition rather than mere guests.
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