Johannesburg - A former cabinet minister’s wife, Norma Gigaba, spent Friday night behind bars for allegedly assaulting her husband and for destroying a Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon worth more than R3-million.
Norma, who is married to Malusi Gigaba, will appear before a magistrate on Monday to face charges of malicious damage to property, domestic violence, crimen injuria and assault.
She was released from the holding cells of Brooklyn police station in Pretoria on Saturday after posting bail of R5 000.
The couple are no strangers to controversy.
Over the years, their union has been marred by cheating scandals. Gigaba, the former finance and home affairs minister, was accused of being in a relationship with Norma while married to his first wife.
It is alleged that he now has a girlfriend, who is currently pregnant with twins.
A video circulated on social media showing a badly damaged Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon and many made the conclusion that it belonged to the celebrity couple.
However, in one unauthenticated voice note, the speaker claimed the car belonged to the former minister’s friend, and Norma damaged it out of spite because she believed the friend was an enabler of his adulterous ways.
Further claims in recording include that Gigaba called the police on his wife and her laptops and cellphones were confiscated.
It said Malusi’s friend opened a case against Norma.
The speaker also said that the pair had been sleeping in separate bedrooms for a while and are on the path of separation, but Norma did not want to leave the marriage without Malusi’s pension money.
In November 2018, Gigaba resigned as both Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister after being found to have breached the executive ethics code and for a sex tape of himself circulating on social media.
The video was shared widely and eventually landed on an adult website.
The country was divided over the turn of events, but Malusi’s ex-wife Thabong simply called it “Karma”.
She took to Instagram and captioned a photo of herself saying: “Karma has no menu, you get served what you deserve.”
Social media influencer, Malaika Mahlatsi, said what is happening to Norma has happened to many women.
“Men have driven many of us to a point of madness. Even those of us who regard ourselves as thinking persons have at some point or another behaved in a manner that, in retrospect, borders on the lunatic,” she said.
A national police spokesperson said the matter was being handled by the Hawks and therefore could not confirm any details.
Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, the Hawks national spokesperson, had not responded by the time of publication.
Sunday Independent