Former state security minister Bongani Bongo.
ANC MPs Mduduzi Manana and Bongani Bongo have been referred to the ethics subcommittee in Parliament.
The subcommittee handles disciplinary hearings into any alleged misconduct from members in the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.
Manana was referred to the joint ethics committee after he was accused of assaulting domestic worker Christine Wiro and bribing her to drop the charges against him. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The incident is the second time Manana has had charges of assault levelled against him for violence against women. In late 2017, he was convicted of three counts of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm after he assaulted women at the Cubana nightclub in Fourways, Johannesburg.
In November last year, Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara alleged that Bongo — during his tenure as state security minister — had offered him a blank cheque to resign as evidence leader in the state capture inquiry into Eskom last year.
ANC MP Amos Masondo, the chairperson of the joint ethics committee in Parliament, confirmed that he has referred Manana and Bongo to the subcommittee that organises disciplinary hearings.
“I can confirm that the two cases have been referred to the subcommittee,” Masondo said.
There have been demands made for both to resign or be sacked, with Parliament’s ethics committee facing immense pressure to take action.
Omie Singh, who is the chairperson of the ethics subcommittee which deals with disciplinary hearings, said in an interview four days ago that Manana was in the “queue” to face a hearing.
“We can’t jump Manana up first because it is sensational with the media. As the cases come in we are cleaning them out,” said Singh while speaking to the Sunday Times.
Singh continued saying Economic Freedom Fighters chief whip Floyd Shivambu is also “queuing in” after the EFF leader was captured on camera assaulting a journalist inside the parliamentary precinct.
Masondo said the ethics subcommittee would hold a press briefing on Tuesday to announce updates on the cases it has before it and provide more details.