”What sort of woman are you, Grace Kwinjeh? Who do you think you are? What are you trying to prove?” These were the questions fired at me by a group of five baton-wielding riot police officers as they beat me up at Machipisa police station in Harare on March 11.

Capetonians eagerly awaiting the outcome of the bitter dispute between Democratic Alliance mayor Helen Zille and the African National Congress over the city’s system of governance will have to wait a little longer. However, the battle for control of the city claimed its first casualty this week.