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Second suspect arrested in Manana assault case

Picture credit: Freddy Mavunda
Picture credit: Freddy Mavunda

A 35-year-old man has been arrested at the Randburg Magistrates Court in connection with an assault case involving former Higher Education Minister Mduduzi Manana.

Mandisa Duma‚ who opened a case of assault with intention to cause grievous bodily harm at the Douglasdale police station on August 6‚ identified the suspect.

Manana made his first court appearance at the Randburg Magistrates Court on August 9 for assaulting Duma‚ her friend and cousin at Cubana restaurant in Cedar Square‚ Fourways.

He was granted R5‚000 bail.

“Yes I can confirm that a 35-year-old man was arrested at the Randburg Magistrates Court after one of the victims who was assaulted identified him as being involved in assaulting her. He will face the same charges as the [former] deputy minister is facing. We are going to investigate the matter further and he will be appearing in court within 48 hours‚” said Gauteng police spokesperson Kay Makhubele.

In a video that went viral‚ the former 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. Duma can be heard asking the men four times: “What are you doing?” before the video cuts.

She has previously claimed that she was with Manana and his friends inside the Cubana restaurant when Manana chased them out of the venue after he lost his cool in an argument on who should succeed President Jacob Zuma at the party’s elective conference in December.

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.