Manana must still be held accountable for assault‚ despite resignation: DA

Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training Mduduzi Manana must still be held accountable for assault and mistreatment‚ notwithstanding his resignation‚ the Democratic Alliance says.

The DA welcomed his resignation‚ but said it must be noted however that if the ANC truly wanted to prioritise protecting women from abuse‚ Manana should have been removed as soon as he had admitted to assaulting a woman almost two weeks ago.

“That he was not immediately fired speaks volumes about how seriously the ANC view women abuse‚ which is rife in our society in part because leaders are not held to account for their actions‚” the DA’s Belinda Bozzoli said.

“Even the President of the ANC Women’s League‚ Bathabile Dlamini‚ stated as a matter of fact that ‘there are those [in government] that are actually worse than him’‚ in a feeble attempt to defend his inexcusable actions‚” she noted.

Bozzoli said the DA had already reported Manana to the Commission for Gender Equality for the alleged mistreatment of his former secretary as well as other female employees in his department.

“We await confirmation of this investigation and will also keep a close eye on the case of assault that Manana must answer for in court.

“The law must now take its course next month when Manana appears in court to answer the charge of assault against him on 13 September.

“It is high time that those who abuse women‚ especially those in positions of power‚ are held to account so that a message is sent that it will no longer be tolerated‚” Bozzoli said.