The Manana Foundation has lashed out at the organisers of an event aimed at raising funds to oppose gender-based violence, saying it was “insensitive” for them to use the picture of former parliamentarian Mduduzi Manana to advertise their event.
Manana – the former deputy minister of higher education and training – was found guilty last year of assault with intent to perform grievous bodily harm, after video footage, which was widely circulated on social media, showed him attacking three young women at the popular Cubana lounge in Fourways.
The reason for asking him to be a panellist, said the organisers, was to have perpetrators speak about their actions.
“Our panel consists of religious leaders, affected mothers, victims and perpetrators. Manana [is] a public figure who has suffered for his actions and [was] put to book, [so] we decided to include him in the panel,” one of the organisers, Buhle Tonise, said on Tuesday.
A poster advertising the event, hosted by Shevolution Africa, sparked outrage on social media because of its tagline “legends united against gender-based violence”. Manana’s face featured prominently.
Tonise said Manana was not going to be the only perpetrator on the panel.
“We wanted perpetrators to talk. Unfortunately, not everyone within the panel was highlighted,” she said.
Having perpetrators speaking at the event would also afford the community an opportunity to have an idea of their thoughts on issues of gender-based violence, so that people can jointly find solutions to the problem, Tonise added.
It was unclear whether Manana would still attend after the reaction from the public, Tonise said.
The Manana Foundation confirmed on Monday evening that Manana would not be a speaker at the event, but that he was invited to be part of a panel.
It said it was honoured to receive an invitation from the organisers of the event but it was not aware that there would be a poster carrying Manana’s picture.
“The foundation has noted the insensitive nature of the event poster, carrying the face of the chairperson [Manana] and describing him as a legend,” it said in a statement.
“The assault conviction that involves the chairperson, for which he took full responsibility and showed remorse, is understandably still fresh in the minds of many South Africans [more so during this month].”
It advised the organisers to withdraw the poster. Manana could not be immediately reached for comment at the time of publication. – Additional reporting by News24