Baldwin Ndaba
JOHANNESBURG: In a surprise twist, Dr Mathews Phosa’s ex-butler, Jan Venter, “unconditionally” retracted an affidavit claiming his former boss had authored an intelligence report labelling Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza an apartheid spy.
Venter said he had acted on Mabuza’s instructions after Phosa had given the ANC top six, including President Jacob Zuma, a dossier linking Mabuza to apartheid-era spy activities between 1985 and 1993.
In that report, it was stated that Mabuza “has delivered 12 young men and women, who were made to believe that they are going to join MK (Umkhonto we Sizwe) in exile”.
“All 12 were delivered to Laughing Waters farm and tortured.
“Five agreed to be sources and the others were fed to the crocodiles at Laughing Waters,” the report states.
The same classified top-secret report allegedly linked Mabuza to various other activities, including spying on Phosa and his wife Pinky.
Detailing how he became involved, Venter said he parted ways acrimoniously with Phosa in May last year.
In June, he got a call anonymously that Phosa had opened a theft charge against him.
Desperate to clear his name, Venter contacted Mabuza for assistance, saying he was afraid that the police investigating the theft charge would prejudice him.
“After the spy report got published in November 2014, I was contacted the same morning, just before 8am, and was told that the premier would contact me within 30 minutes.
“The premier contacted me from his cellphone and asked me to come to his house the following day,” Venter said.
They met for about 30 minutes, during which Mabuza allegedly asked him to make a statement saying Phosa was the author of the report.
Venter said Mabuza also asked him to say both Phosa and businessman Tokyo Sexwale were bankrolling the EFF and its leader, Julius Malema.
He added that after agreeing, he was put into contact with various state security agents and the now-North West acting provincial commissioner of police, General Jacob Tsumane.
Venter said he was also put in touch with the VIP police attached to President Jacob Zuma.
“In one of the conversations I had with the presidential police, one of them told me that the old man (Zuma) was happy about my warning.”
Mabuza, via his spokesman Zibonele Mncwango, said he wouldn’t like to be drawn into the “non-factual domestic matters” involving Phosa and Venter. “On the so-called spy claims, it remains sub judice.”
Presidential spokesman Bongani Majola said the Presidency had no knowledge of the accusations against Phosa.