Mduduzi Manana granted bail
Deputy Higher Education Minster Mduduzi Manana has been granted bail in the Randburg Magistrates Court
Facing a charge of assault - Manana has been granted R5000 bail. The case was postponed to next month for further investigation.
Police Minister Fikile Mbalula is currently holding a press conference on the assault case.
Mbalula says Manana will not be given special treatment over the charges.
He says he agrees with the public that Manana should be treated as a normal citizen.
Manana is accused of hitting a woman and her friend at a restaurant in Johannesburg on Sunday.
It's understood things got heated following a debate on the ANC presidential race.
A video of the incident has been doing the rounds.
ALSO READ: Police shouldn't 'rush' Manana investigation - ministry
Manana has also issued an apology for the incident.
There's been an outcry about how the case is being handled - with some saying the deputy minister is receiving preferential treatment.
Mbalula says there will be no special treatment for the deputy minister.
"I can assure you - Deputy Minister Mdu Manana will not be treated with special kid gloves and he will face the full wrath of law in relation to the reported crimes of which today he appeared in court. From the moment the matter was reported via Twitter - we made a follow up and unleashed the police on that. We did not wait to hear and understand where the case was opened," he says.
Legal expert, Ulrich Roux also says the public expects Manana to be treated like everyone else.
"If you had to compare this incident with the incident that occurred at KFC a few days back- the people implicated in that incident were arrested by the police the next morning. It's the same charge, and similar circumstances," he says.
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