The Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Mduduzi Manana, has issued an apology to the woman that he assaulted at a Joburg nightclub over the weekend.
In a short statement issued on Monday, Deputy Minister Manana "apologised unreservedly to the victim, Mandisa Duma, her family, the government of South Africa and all South Africans, and women in particular".
Manana was captured on cellphone camera by an SABC journalist assaulting Duma in the Cubana nightclub following an altercation.
He said that the shameful incident, as he put it, should not have happened.
Manana said he would be meeting the ANC and President Zuma to give a full account of the incident.
"I also commit myself to, when the time is right, further engage with Ms Duma and her family to apologise, take responsibility and address the harm that has occurred," he said.
Meanwhile, the Minister in the Presidency Responsible for Women, Susan Shabangu, called for the case against Manana to be attended to with urgency.
Shabangu said she had listened to a sound clip circulated on social media, purported to be Manana’s admission to slapping the woman, Mandisa Duma. ”In the clip, Manana is heard telling Duma’s brother that he slapped her for identifying him as a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersexed (LGBTI) community. We are also aware that an assault case has been opened, and that SABC journalist, Lumko Jimlongo, has made a statement to the effect of witnessing the incident. We are proud of Lumko and condemn those who stood by and watched,” Shabangu said in a statement.
“All those who remain silent in the face of violence are accomplices to that violence. I urge that the assault case against the deputy minister of Higher Education and Training be attended to with urgency.”
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula confirmed that a case had been opened against the Deputy Minister.
