ZONDO COMMISSION
Faith Muthambi re-tortured me, Phumla Williams tells state capture inquiry
‘I was no longer sleeping, I had nightmares. My facial twitches were back. I had panic attacks. I saw torture going through my body again’.
Faith Muthambi, one of former president Jacob Zuma’s controversial ministerial appointees, mistreated government spokesperson Phumla Williams to such an extent that she relived the torture she endured during apartheid. Williams, who was testifying at the state capture inquiry, was close to tears as she recounted her harrowing experience in which Muthambi, as communications minister, stripped her of her powers and neutralised the capacity of the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), a key state institution. Williams, an ANC activist who was arrested in 1988 and “tortured for weeks”, said Muthambi’s treatment took her back to those days. “The effects of my torture were back. I was no longer sleeping, I had nightmares. My facial twitches were back. I had panic attacks. I saw torture going through my body again,” she said. “I never thought in this government people can do such things.” Williams said she had asked Zuma to intervene but nothing was done. Muthambi has bee...
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