POLOKO TAU
SLAIN whistle-blower Moss Phakoe travelled to KwaZulu-Natal, where he presented damning evidence into alleged corruption at the Rustenburg local municipality to President Jacob Zuma.
But three years after his murder, his quest to expose corruption is yet to be realised.
ANC councillor and fellow whistle-blower Alfred Motsi is calling for action into the contents of an incriminating dossier on alleged corruption in the municipality that he had helped compile and handed over to the ANC.
Motsi said unless the allegations of corruption – running into millions of rand – were investigated and the perpetrators brought to book, Phakoe’s “death will be in vain”.
A war of words has since erupted between Motsi and ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe, who is denying claims that he is aware of the allegations reported to the ANC.
Mantashe confirmed, however, that Phakoe had called him several times, but said “there were all sorts of allegations and if there was something concrete, we always say to the structures, ‘give it to the police’ ”.
Former Rustenburg mayor Matthew Wolmarans, 43, who was implicated in Phakoe’s report, paid his bodyguard and driver, Enoch Matshaba, 41, to kill Phakoe. Wolmarans was sentenced to 20 years in prison and Matshaba to life.
“Phakoe would still be alive had action been taken earlier by the ANC,” Motsi said, adding that there had been several attempts on his life.
Together with Phakoe, a trade unionist and town councillor, Motsi said they had gone on a mission to expose corruption, but that it had not been successful even after his peer was gunned down.
“We have had meetings with ANC structures in the province, went to individual ANC bigwigs, including Mantashe, senior party leaders, General Siphiwe Nyanda and Billy Masetlha… but no action was ever taken. In the end, we managed to get President (Jacob) Zuma’s attention,” he said.
Motsi said he, Phakoe and five others were invited to see Zuma at his home in Nkandla late in December 2008. ‘‘He was the only one who was sympathetic to our cause,” Motsi said.
After that meeting, Mantashe had invited him and Phakoe to a meeting with the ANC’s top six, the provincial leadership and Wolmarans on January 8, 2009 in Potchefstroom.
Motsi said that former co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister, the late Sicelo Shiceka, was then asked to investigate, to no avail.
“It is all that comrade Phakoe died seeking. He hated fraud and corruption, and wanted to expose it, and for those responsible to be acted upon accordingly,” he said.