Cape Town - Western Cape Premier Helen Zille is standing by her Community Safety MEC Dan Plato, despite the furore that erupted over an explosive affidavit by a self-confessed gangster who revealed he was “guided by angels” and had a colourful past as a “top spy”.
This comes after Weekend Argus spoke to Pierre Wyngaardt, the man behind the affidavit
which implicated senior ANC members and top police officials in drug trafficking, money laundering, ATM bombings and corruption, on Friday.
Wyngaardt said he was a “prophet” with “special spiritual abilities”, who was guided by angels to go to an international NGO to draw up his controversial affidavit.
In it, he claimed that police Major General Jeremy Vearey, ANC provincial chairman and Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Marius Fransman, and ANC MPL Max Ozinsky were involved in criminal activities with Western Cape gangs.
But on Saturday night Zille came out in support of Plato’s decision to pass on Wyngaardt’s information to the Public Protector.
“Dan received the allegations and passed them on to the Public Protector, who passed them on to the Provincial Director of Public Prosecutions. Dan could not ignore the submission. He referred it, and it was investigated,” Zille said.
Defending Plato further, the premier added that the kind of investigation sparked by the affidavit was not part of the MEC’s job description, or mandate, which was why he had passed it on. “
It was up to the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide what to do, and he decided to drop the case.”
Questioned about Wyngaardt specifically, Zille said she had no knowledge of him personally visiting her office, but that her office had a detailed tracking system for every arrival.
According to
Wyngaardt, he first took his affidavit to Zille’s office, but did not meet her.
Meanwhile, Vearey has struck back at Plato over what he called “wildly preposterous allegations” contained in the affidavit.
An outraged Vearey accused the MEC of not only believing, but also circulating an “Alice in Wonderland fairytale” concocted by a “seemingly mad man”.
Vearey said it was not surprising NPA head Rodney de Kock found the source of the allegations was a witness who lacked credibility, and whose version could not be corroborated in any respect.
He also warned the “political village idiots involved in this attack on my reputation”, which he claimed was personal.
“I don’t see any other rational reason for this, besides political prejudice around my (ANC) past. I make no apologies for my past.
“This nonsense has been well-orchestrated. I’ve had a sense of humour about this idiocy for a long time, but I’ve lost my sense of humour now.”
Vearey also said he was aware that others had provided “similar manufactured affidavits to the MEC”. Wyngaardt, he added, was “no innocent who walked into a place by accident to make a statement”.
“There were no angels who accompanied him. I… can assure you that they do not fit the description of angels,” he said.
Weekedn Argus