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Former ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa’s butler has accused his former boss of duping him about withdrawing all the charges Phosa had laid against him after they supposedly kissed and made up.
Jan Venter told City Press that Phosa had failed to withdraw a perjury and criminal defamation charge laid against him at the White River Police Station last March.
Phosa laid this charge to counter Venter’s affidavit claiming that he saw Phosa and his associate, Nick Elliot, concocting a report that accused Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza of once being an apartheid spy.
Venter said he was not bothered by Phosa’s “dishonesty”, and would reveal all he knew in court.
Venter has been flip-flopping between Phosa and Mabuza, alternately backing Phosa and then Mabuza.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala confirmed that the case had not been withdrawn and was assigned to Gauteng police to investigate.
“He fooled me about this case,” said Venter. “But he’s shooting himself in the foot and we are going to have a field day in court because I will reveal everything.”
Phosa was reluctant to comment on the saga, saying the story had “rusted”.
Last week, he said he would reopen all the other charges he had previously laid against Venter, including a theft charge and a civil claim of R53 500.
The men reconciled late last year when Venter claimed Mabuza had used him to lie about Phosa and produced proof showing that Mabuza’s lawyer, Ian Small-Smith, had paid him R15 000 to do so. Small-Smith denied the payments were bribes, saying they were instead supposed to help Venter to buy food and nappies for his babies.
City Press understands that part of the agreement was that Venter would testify for Phosa in a R10 million defamation civil claim Mabuza instituted, and Phosa would withdraw all the criminal and civil charges he had laid against Venter. The defamation case is set down for May 9 in the North Gauteng High Court.
The drama started when Venter gave a statement to police in March, alleging that he saw Phosa and Elliot drafting a report detailing how Mabuza had supposedly worked as a spy for the apartheid government. Phosa forwarded that report to ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte in September 2014.
Though Phosa and Venter reconciled, their battle resumed two weeks ago when Venter’s mother, Vernie, told City Press that Phosa broke his promise to give her son a job and take care of the family.
Phosa said Venter and his mother had demanded money from him and that Vernie was a “master blackmailer”.
Mabuza said he did not know Venter and denied that Small-Smith was his lawyer.
“I also don’t know the source of the spy report. I received a document from [Duarte], who said Phosa sent the document to her,” said Mabuza.
