Vuyo Mhlakaza-Manamela, Gauteng Legislature Deputy Speaker, to appear in court

16 August 2022

Vuyo Mhlakaza-Manamela, Gauteng Legislature Deputy Speaker, will make her first appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court on charges of assault and crimen injuria, on Thursday, 18 August 2022. The politician is accused of attacking police Protection and Security Services officer, Sgt. Lizzy Mojapelo.

Mojapelo approached AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit after the National Prosecuting Authority (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 The matter was withdrawn last year after senior prosecutors allegedly told Mojapelo that the matter would be difficult to prosecute because the suspect is a very high-profile person.

The unit made representations to the NPA on behalf of Mojapela, and in June the Gauteng Director of Public Prosecutions informed the unit that it had reviewed the earlier decision and will re-enroll the case against Mhlakaza-Manamela.

The alleged assault took place in February 2020 at the home of Mhlakaza-Manamela and her husband, Bhuti Manamela, 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 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.

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.

Issued by Barry Bateman, Communications Manager: Private Prosecution Unit, AfriForum, 16 August 2022