Four days after Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mduduzi Manana was accused of assaulting three women‚ he has finally appeared in court and has been granted bail of R5‚000.
Manana‚ 33‚ clad in a tailored navy blue suit‚ white shirt and brown shoes‚ briefly appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s court on Thursday on two charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
State prosecutor Yusuf Baba told magistrate Liesel Davids that Manana was in custody while he requested permission from the court to allow the media in. However‚ Michael Motsoeneng Bill‚ appearing for Manana‚ opposed the request that media be allowed to film the proceedings.
On Sunday morning‚ the deputy minister lost his cool after an argument on who should succeed President Jacob Zuma at the party's elective conference in December.
But what allegedly triggered him to attack the women was when one of them made a comment about his sexuality‚ labelling him gay.
One the victims‚ Mandisa Duma‚ opened a case of assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm at the Douglasdale Police station on the very same day.
She claimed that she was with Manana and his friends inside the Cubana restaurant when Manana chased them out of the venue.
Duma‚ who sustained a black eye‚ bruised knees and a swollen face and neck‚ further claimed that while walking out‚ Manana slapped her cousin across the face after the comment about his sexuality before turning on her in the parking lot.
In a video that went viral‚ the deputy minister can be seen wearing a black t-shirt and a black and white cap.
Three men can be seen dragging one of the women down as she tries to get up while bouncers can be seen standing by and not intervening in the 14-second video clip. The woman can be heard asking the men four times "What are you doing?" before the video cuts.
Manana has since admitted and apologised for the incident.
He will appear again in court on September 13.
- TimesLIVE
Source: TMG Digital.