Assault charge against Manana withdrawn – report

Former deputy minister of higher education and current ANC member of parliament Mduduzi Manana briefly faced fresh allegations of woman abuse.

The Sowetan reported that he allegedly tried to push his domestic worker down the stairs yesterday at his double-storey home in Fourways, Johannesburg.

The woman, named as Christine Wiro, quit working for him on Sunday after just three weeks and then laid charges of assault, crimen injuria and intimidation against him at the Douglasdale police station.

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The Zimbabwean woman, variously named as either 43 or 53, claimed he had abused her verbally repeatedly “for the slightest mistake” and even threatened to have her deported back to Zimbabwe her after she allegedly opened his gate for the wrong person, assuming it was an invited guest.

EWN reported on Monday morning, however, that she then withdrew the case against Manana, asking police to “no longer investigate the matter”.

Manana was convicted last year on three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm after pleading guilty to the charges in September. The charges related to the assault of three women at Cubana in Fourways on August 6.

Manana assaulted at least one of the women after she taunted him for allegedly being gay. A video of the assault surfaced on social media and sparked widespread condemnation. He resigned from Cabinet but the ANC retained him as an MP.

He was given a suspended sentence and a fine in November and was also ordered to attend anger management classes.

Late last month, Sunday World also reported that Manana found himself in a brawl at the same nightclub that saw his name become infamous.

He was allegedly attempting to intervene to stop a fight at Cubana two Sundays ago after his friend and ANC youth business leader Malusi Zondo became embroiled in an argument with a physically imposing bodyguard trainer, Sakhile “Biggie” Thusi.

Manana was ultimately unsuccessful in stopping the fight, though, and his friend was reportedly beaten “to a pulp”.

Manana has been avoiding giving comment to the media as no media house has been able to reach him.

Members of the EFF protest against Mduduzi Manana as he appears at the Randburg Magistrates Court in Johannesburg on 8 October 2017. Manana appeared at the court for a sentencing hearing in his alleged assault of women in a nightclub earlier in the year. Picture: Yeshiel Panchia