Pretoria - What did Julius Malema tell Mathews Phosa’s ex-butler which terrified him so?
This question was on everyone's lips on Wednesday at the high court in Pretoria during proceedings in which Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza is claiming R10 million from Phosa for alleged defamation.
At the centre of the legal wrangle is Phosa’s former butler, Jan Venter, who claimed he overheard Phosa and his associate, Nick Elliot, plotting a report in which they accused Mabuza of being an apartheid spy.
Venter told Mabuza about the “plot” which he overheard, but this week he admitted to Phosa’s lawyer that he only overheard “ snippets”.
Venter initially stood by Mabuza but, in October last year, he changed his tune and apologised to Phosa for the “lies” he told Mabuza.
Venter now claims he mostly told lies during a media briefing in October during which he and Phosa kissed and made up. He claimed he was told by the Phosa camp what to say. At that time, Venter claimed Mabuza paid him to make the false statements regarding Phosa.
But, back in the Mabuza camp, Venter this week was adamant that his former boss indeed plotted the false allegations against the premier.
During his lengthy testimony in court, Venter mentioned that Phosa at some stage introduced him to Malema.
According to Venter, Malema asked him whether he had a security clearance and then made “certain suggestions” to him and asked him to “get involved in certain things”. Venter said the suggestions terrified him so much that he immediately fled from the house in which he stayed on Phosa’s farm in Hazyview.
Venter point-blank refused to say what the suggestions by Malema entailed. He would only say it entailed high-profile people and he would only divulge the information if the court sat in camera (closed to the public).
Not even Mabuza’s advocate, Etienne Labuschagne SC, could prompt Venter to divulge this information. He was only prepared to say: “Malema told me something which made me fearful.
“It affected a lot of high-profile individuals.”
Venter said he may one day reveal what was said.
Labuschagne then asked the court to sit in camera to hear what Venter had to say. Judge Bill Prinsloo, after hearing arguments on whether the court should sit in camera or not, allowed Venter’s request.
He said it appeared Venter was terrified by something Malema said to him and he was too fearful to divulge it in open court. In allowing the request, he remarked “we are living in relatively tense times with the elections approaching”.
Before clearing the court of everyone apart from the legal teams, Phosa and Mabuza, the judge said that if he deemed it appropriate he could disclose this evidence in his judgment at the end of the case.
Phosa’s advocate, Mike Maritz SC, said Phosa denied ever arranging a meeting between Malema and Venter as he and Malema were not even friends, merely comrades.
Pretoria News