Jennifer Ferguson is a singer-songwriter and political activist, and former member of Parliament for the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. She recorded her first two albums of music through

Shifty Records Founded by Lloyd Ross and Ivan Kadey, Shifty Records was a South African anti-apartheid record label which existed for over a decade beginning in 1982. In 1986 Kadey left South Africa and became partner with the Waterland Design Group in Hollywoo ...

and was part of a burgeoning political music, theatre and cabaret scene in Johannesburg during the late 1980s. A 2007 book described her songs as being "about the insanity of racism and war and the importance of humanity, peace and harmony". Under

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, Ferguson was known for her blatant support for the then-banned ANC from the stage, which saw her targeted by security police. In one instance government agents, using tickets bought with state funds, disrupted one of her concerts by releasing

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

in a theatre. In 1997 Ferguson resigned from Parliament and started to split her time between South Africa and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Shortly before, she had abstained on a vote about abortion, despite party orders to vote in favour of it or stay away on the day of the sitting. In October 2017 Ferguson accused football administrator and politician

Danny Jordaan Daniel Alexander "Danny" Jordaan (born 3 September 1951) is the president of the South African Football Association (South African Football Association, SAFA). He is a former lecturer, politician and anti-apartheid activist. He led South Africa's ...

of raping her 24 years before. She said the #

MeToo #MeToo is a social movement against sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and rape culture, in which people publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this context on social media in ...

campaign had inspired her to speak out. Jordaan denied the allegation. In March 2018 Ferguson laid a charge of rape against Jordaan and said she expected more women to come forward about assault by Jordaan. Jordaan claimed that the criminal charges had been catalysed by his professional rival

Irvin Khoza Irvin Khoza (born January 27, 1948) is a South African football administrator and businessman. Nicknamed "Iron Duke / Squveve", he is the Chairman of Orlando Pirates Football Club, Chairman of the South African Premier Soccer League and by virtue ...

, and said Khoza had paid for Ferguson's flight to South Africa to lay the complaint. Khoza denied this, Ferguson produced documents to the contrary, and leaked evidence of Khoza's purported involvement was reported to have had "worrying discrepancies".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Jennifer Date of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century South African women singers South African politicians Members of the African National Congress Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people)