Manana may regret his late-night bash, and MPs their vote

You may not have heard much about him before now, but Deputy Higher Education Minister Mduduzi Manana is no shrinking violet on the club scene. One hopes his assault (he’s admitted it) on a woman at a Fourways club is not a reflection of how he feels about Women’s Month. The police let him “hand himself in”, finally, on Thursday morning, when he “appeared” in court (after using a hidden staff entrance). He’s out on R5 000 bail, and faces two charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. No special treatment for him, explained Police Minister Fikile Mbalula. And, of course, he still has his high-pay job.

In the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court, five white men accused of assaulting a black couple at a KFC appeared on an attempted murder charge. From the mount of wisdom offered by his phone, Mbalula pronounced they were a “racist gang”. They say they were acting in self-defence.

In parliament, ANC speakers offered not a single reason why Jacob Zuma specifically should not be voted out as president, by secret vote. Zuma won the day (198 to 177, with nine abstentions) leaving the ANC to lick its wounds, with some in the party seeking payback for dissidents, and others saying it is not the time for witch-hunts.