Former deputy minister of higher education and training Mduduzi Manana will hear his fate on Monday when the Randburg Magistrates' Court is expected to hand down sentence in his assault case.
Manana was convicted of three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm after pleading guilty to the charges in September.
Final arguments were heard in the previous sitting
The charges relate to the assault of three women at Cubana in Fourways on August 6. This after one of the women called him "isitabane", a word used derogatorily to refer to gay people.
A video of the assault surfaced on social media and sparked widespread condemnation.
In the previous court sitting, state prosecutor Anne-Marie Smith argued that Manana and his co-accused attacked one woman, calling for a "harsh" sentence.
"These three grown men assaulted one woman. Manana saw it fit to assault this woman too and then assaulted another woman too."
Smith described this as a "barbaric act".
She said that Manana - who indicated that alcohol played a role in the assault - needs "correctional supervision" where he won't be allowed to consume alcohol.
"Where is the punishment if Manana is fined? He needs correctional supervision where he won't touch alcohol," Smith said.
She said the function of a proper sentence was to address the wrong doings.
"Society expects the court to impose a harsh sentence." She said Manana can easily fork out a fine of R100,000.
Manana's lawyer Michael Motsoeneng Bill argued that the word "isitabane" was used for many years to oppress the gay community.
Bill said Manana was provoked and that Magistrate Ramsamy Reddy must consider certain circumstances in this regard.
He argued for a sentence of 12 months imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years.
Bill said this should be subject to Manana attending a rehabilitation programme and doing 500 hours of community service.
News24