By Alex Eliseev
Controversial former Gauteng housing MEC, Dan Mofokeng, is under police investigation for allegedly spitting in the face of a former business associate, slapping her, pushing her to the ground and kicking her.
He allegedly did all of this while grudgingly obeying a court order to hand over the keys of a luxury Mercedes-Benz CLS500 that belonged to a company the two were involved in.
Mofokeng has, however, laid a counter assault charge against Joyce Morgan for preventing him from peacefully walking away and pushing him after he had surrendered the car keys.
Morgan was a director in Mofokeng's company Nzhelele Resources Africa, which made headlines last month over a property scandal involving the multimillion-rand AgriBEE fund.
The two had a fallout, and the ownership of the vehicle - which was bought in June last year - became hotly contested.
It is understood that at the end of March, while the car was in Morgan's possession, it was reported hijacked and police arrived at her home to confiscate and impound it.
The keys were handed to Mofokeng.
But Morgan turned to the courts and, after a legal wrangle, secured an order for Mofokeng to hand her the keys at the Lyttleton police station at 2pm on April 23.
The order was given at the Johannesburg High Court on April 21.
Not long after Morgan and Mofokeng arrived at the police station their versions of events split dramatically.
Morgan claimed Mofokeng refused to hand back the keys and only did so after she called her lawyers.
Then, she claimed, came the abuse, which saw her falling to the ground and being dragged by an angry Mofokeng.
Her statement - taken while opening a charge against Mofokeng - was supported by two witnesses.
Mofokeng said he gave back the keys, but Morgan attacked him and, at one point, fell over when he tried to defend himself.
The spat was also witnessed by a police superintendent who intervened but did not make any arrests.
A police spokesperson, Captain Colette Weilbachm said an arrest was not necessary because the identities and addresses of both parties were known.
Weilbach said an arrest was only executed when there was doubt about whether the suspects could be brought to court.
She said both cases would be investigated and referred to a prosecutor for a decision.
The Star, sister newspaper of the Pretoria News, called Mofokeng for comment, but he responded: "I don't want to talk. Whatever they said you can write. You come with preconceived ideas."
He fumed when called on his cellphone saying: "How did you get this number? I am not your friend. I didn't give you this number."
Morgan has since obtained a protection order against Mofokeng and their legal battle over the car is set to continue. Mofokeng is appealing the court order that forced him to hand back the keys.
Mofokeng served as housing MEC between 1994 and 1999 and was embroiled in several controversies including suspicious appointments and a tampered auditor-general's report during his tenure.
He then went into business.