Listen: Fikile Mbalula downplays Minister Manana’s assault in car-crash 702 interview
Mbalula is doing a fine job of contradicting himself over gender-based violence
The Chief of Police was hoping to use the Tuesday morning interview with 702 to tell the women of SA that he is working to ensure their safety in the face of gender-based violence.
However, he might have just gone and given the opposite message after defending Deputy Higher Education Minister Mduduzi Manana, who was caught on camera assaulting a woman only last week.
Mbalula was grilled by the excellent Xolani Gwala, who was hosting the breakfast show. Gwala compared Manana’s case to that of a Durban teen who had also been filmed beating a woman.
Manana’s assault
The young lad received a weekend in jail and was kept in custody for GBH, whereas the Minister – facing the same change – only had to pay a paltry fee of R5000 to be released on bail.
Incredibly, Mbalula’s phone encountered some extremely convenient ‘technical difficulties’ as he began to address the issue, and the call was dropped temporarily. When the interview resumed, he gave this defence:
People have their views, but we need to understand these things differ in terms of the intensity of the investigation and how we categorise these assaults.
These cases are not being treated differently. The fact of the matter is that GBH in the case of Manana came after his arrest, and it was categorised as common assault. He was never arrested, the case was opened as common assault and it was changed to GBH by the prosecution.
Violence against women in South Africa
Mbalua’s defence of his colleague continued, and when Gwala said his anti-violence against women campaign is undermined by his stance on Manana, that’s when the Chief really put his foot in his mouth…
“It doesn’t make a mockery of us. It only makes a mockery of those who don’t take further steps in relation to the matter and how it’s treated: Manana found himself in a situation – a fight outside a beer hall which then deteriorated.”
That’s right. Mbalula brushed the assault off – which, may we remind you, is being treated as GBH by the courts – as a drunken brawl outside a tavern.
The contradictory nature of his gender-violence stance and protection of the Minister has caused utter outrage across South Africa. Let us know your opinion on the matter in our comments section, and listen to the interview here: