Mduduzi Manana

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 13: Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe administers the oat of office to Deputy Minister of Higher Education Mduduzi Manana at the president’s office in Tuynhuys, Cape Town, South Africa on June 13, 2012. (Gallo Images / Business Day / Trevor Samson)

Mduduzi Manana faces new assault charges, allegedly abused domestic worker

Manana is already a convicted woman beater.

Mduduzi Manana

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA – JUNE 13: Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe administers the oat of office to Deputy Minister of Higher Education Mduduzi Manana at the president’s office in Tuynhuys, Cape Town, South Africa on June 13, 2012. (Gallo Images / Business Day / Trevor Samson)

Mduduzi Manana is a convicted woman beater and former Deputy Minister of Higher Education. Despite all that, he is an MP and ANC member. Now, new allegations of assault have led to fresh charges being laid with the South African police.

The Sowetan reports that Manana faces allegations of assault, crimen injuria and intimidation after he allegedly attempted to push his domestic worker down the stairs of his home on Sunday.

Christine Wiro laid the charges against Manana on Sunday just three weeks into her job of working for Manana at his double-storey Fourways home.

Manana pleaded guilty to assaulting three women in September last year after video footage of him striking women at a restaurant went viral. By the time November came around, he had been sentenced with a R100 000 fine or 12 months jail time, together with 500 hours of community service. Unsurprisingly, he went with the fine and no jail time option and was never even arrested.

Wiro is a 43-year-old Zimbabwean national and claims that the trouble began after she mistakenly opened Manana’s gate for the wrong person. He was expecting someone for breakfast and when a car arrived, Wiro assumed that was the correct guest.

Manana then allegedly threw a tantrum, hurled insults at her and pushed her while kicking her out of the house. He also threatened to have her deported back to Zimbabwe.

“He was shouting at me saying I can’t open his gate for anyone without checking with him first. I apologised but he kept shouting at me telling me that he had connections and can deport me back to Zimbabwe,” Wiro told the Sowetan.

The domestic worker also revealed that Manana would only let her clock off at 22:00 even though she had to be back at work at 6:30. The verbal abuse was so bad that Wiro considered quitting from the second day of employment.

The Gauteng police have confirmed that they are investigating the incident. Manana is also yet to comment on the allegations.