Rustenburg - Gauteng Provincial Legislature deputy speaker Nomvuyo Mhlakaza-Manamela is expected to appear in court on Thursday, for allegedly attacking a pregnant police officer at her home in a drunk fit of rage.
The deputy speaker is facing charges of assault and crimen injuria, AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit said.
She was expected to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court for allegedly attacking police protection and security services officer, Sergeant Lizzy Mojapelo.
Mojapelo approached AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit after the NPA chose not to pursue the case.
“The matter was withdrawn last year after senior prosecutors allegedly told Mojapelo that the matter would be difficult to prosecute because the suspect is a very high-profile person," said AfriForum’s private prosecutions spokesperson Barry Bateman.
He said they made representations to the NPA on behalf of Mojapela, and in June, the Gauteng director of public prosecutions informed them that it had reviewed the earlier decision and would re-enrol the case against Mhlakaza-Manamela.
The alleged assault took place in February 2020 at the home of Mhlakaza-Manamela and her husband, Buti Manamela, the deputy minister of higher education.
"Mojapela alleges that the suspect, in a drunken fit of rage, severely assaulted her. She further states that her police superiors did not want to help her open a case, but instead, did everything in their power to frustrate those efforts.
"A medical examination confirmed that Mojapela sustained multiple injuries and confirmed she was 11 weeks pregnant at the time. She suffered vaginal bleeding and had to receive fertility treatment to ensure her pregnancy was not terminated."
He said Mojapela, as a diligent and dutiful police officer, documented details of the alleged assault at every step of the process – from the occurrence book entry at the scene of the crime to compiling notes of her interactions with prosecutors and investigators.
IOL