Mandisa Duma, one of the women who has accused Deputy Minister of Higher Education Mduduzi Manana of assaulting her, has called for the other men involved in the assault to be arrested as well, the Mail & Guardian reported on Friday.
Manana appeared in court briefly on Thursday and was granted bail of R5,000. His case was postponed until September 13 for further investigation. He was charged with two counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
In an interview with the Mail & Guardian, Duma said it was not just Manana who assaulted her, it was "four or five" of his male companions who beat her and two friends outside Cubana in Fourways in the early hours of last Sunday morning.
She reportedly said that Manana and his henchmen dragged her to the ground, and their blows prevented her from standing up.
She told the Mail & Guardian: "My whole body is in pain. I still need to go to the gynae tomorrow because I was being kicked everywhere around my stomach."
Duma reportedly said Manana should reveal the names of his alleged accomplices.
"He must bring those friends so that we know who they are, so that they can be charged as well."
Phindi Louw, a spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, said on Thursday that Manana had handed himself over to the police on Thursday morning, and that because the charge was a schedule one offence, the state did not have grounds to oppose bail. She denied that he received special treatment in court.
Manana was brought into court through a back entrance, avoiding media attention.
According to The Times, Police Minister Fikile Mbalula called the assault the work of "a clan of men who joined to exchange masculine punches with a woman". He said Manana did not receive special treatment and that he was not a flight risk.
But Ulrich Roux of BDK Attorneys told The Times that a double standard was being applied.
"Normally, when a person is accused of assault, then the police have an option of bringing him into court or to the police station to process him and take him to court to apply for bail. The court then decides whether that person qualifies as someone who should be released on bail. There's various ways of bringing a person into court. The police could have requested that the deputy minister report and hand himself over to the police station so that the normal processes take its course, or they can go out and arrest him."
Meanwhile, the ANC says it cannot act against Manana until it has conducted its own investigation.
Chairperson of the ANC's integrity commission Andrew Mlangeni reportedly said the party needed to establish whether the assault allegations were true or not before taking action.