Namhla Tshisela

Namhla Tshisela

Gauteng Premier Paul Mashatile yesterday denied allegations that he had assaulted his wife's former business partner at his home last week.

A weekend newspaper reported that Thembisile Mlambo-Mutlanyana, 43, has claimed that Mashatile had "pushed her like a dog" and screamed at her in front of the gate of his home in Kelvin, north of Johannesburg, on Thursday morning.

Mlambo-Mutlanyana had reportedly gone to Mashatile's home to collect money that his wife, Manzi, owed her.

Mashatile, however, in a statement, denied pushing her, saying Mlambo-Mutlanyana was "rude and unruly". He said he was a defender of women's rights and the law.

He said he was woken by "screaming, shouting and hooting" at his front gate.

"She created a scene at the house, to a point that the members of the SAPS threatened to arrest her if she did not remove here car from the gate," he said.

Police spokesman Inspector Moses Maphakela said Mashatile had not been charged, but a case of common assault had been opened against him at Sandton police station.