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Just a day after announcing that he had joined the African Transformation Movement (ATM), Mzwanele Manyi was involved in a spat with the All Africa Decolonisation Congress (AADC) – a party he formed.
The controversial former Government Communications and Information System boss was dismissed by the AADC after it accused him of trying to use churches that support the party to launder money.
It also said he discussed party funding with the Gupta family.
“Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi went overseas on December 19 to meet with the Gupta brothers and discuss funding for our political party,” the party’s acting spokesperson, Edward Mokomele, said in a statement on Wednesday.
Manyi started AADC in December before he announced his decision to leave the ANC, his “political home for 30 years”.
On Wednesday, Manyi said he was leaving the ANC because it was fatigued, captured and had overstayed its welcome.
He said in wanting to “be seen as transforming” and cleaning out the rot in state-owned entities, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s new dawn had targeted black executives as a scapegoat.
Read: Mzwanele Manyi abandons ‘tired’ ANC for ATM
The AADC said that Manyi insisted that the party join hands with ATM.
“It was then brought to our attention that Manyi and ATM leadership are laundering money through the party,” Mokomele said.
“As the movement intending to bring change in South Africa we have to distance ourselves from Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi and all his fraudulent activities.”
But Manyi told News24 that the claims made by Mokomele were “rubbish” and he threatened legal action against him.
“AADC is my own creation, my own party and I will prove that by shutting it down,” he said.
“I have already instructed my lawyers to sue Mokomele for defamation of character.”
Manyi also apparently sent a text message to Mokomele threatening to sue him and have him jailed, News24 reported.
He said the claims were meant to “distract” him from the work he was doing with ATM.
“The ATM leadership is not even bothered by the claims because they existed long before I was even a subject,” Manyi said.
Mokomele also threatened Manyi with litigation and accused him of using the party and its members for his own benefit.
- Additional reporting by News24
