Manana's apology nothing but a PR stunt

On Saturday, Manana released a video in which he confirmed his resignation, apologising for what he described as "an incident". 

There are a number of reasons why I find Manana's half-hearted apology to be unsettling. 

In the apology, the former minister fails to fully take the nation into his confidence. One can only apologise for what you know you've done wrong. 

Manana skirts around the issue, making it impossible for me to grant him absolution.

 I understand the "incident" is still the subject of a court case, but if Manana wants forgiveness he should come clean and allow the law to take its course. 

It's also sad to note that the presidency and cabinet waited for Manana to succumb to public pressure and resign, rather than taking immediate action. 

Like a spoiled child, the deputy minister was given time to think and reflect before eventually deciding to resign. Had there been no public pressure, one has to wonder if he would have bothered resigning at all. 

The president had an opportunity to take a strong stance on gender-based violence and to show that government will fight the scourge, no matter who is involved. 

The delayed reaction once again leaves me wondering how serious government is about protecting the most vulnerable in society. 

The patriarchal system, which protects men of Manana's ilk, left it up to the perpetrator to decide on the timing of his resignation.

One of my biggest concerns about this whole case is the reports that Manana had been violent towards other women in the past.

 You would think that if he was sincere in his apology, he would have addressed those allegations and put the speculation to bed. Instead the rumours and reports are allowed to continue.  

It would have served Manana better to face all the allegations, and include them in his apology, instead of waiting for us to dig deeper for his skeletons. 

It angers me that the former deputy minister tried to placate us by saying he will be seeking professional help to deal with a problem, without really articulating what the exact nature of the problem is. 

If he was really sincere, he should have humbled himself and come completely clean. 

His victims deserved a real apology and not a PR stunt. Women deserve better than men sweeping their actions under the carpet in the hope that it will  go away.