ZONDO INQUIRY
KARYN MAUGHAN: Jonas and Manyi, on opposite sides of state capture spectrum, to be grilled
Cross-examination presents an opportunity for the commission to demonstrate how it gets to the truth amid binary and disputed accounts of the same reality
In the next weeks, two very different witnesses will be cross-examined at the state capture inquiry: former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas and former head of government communications and defunct Gupta media empire owner Mzwanele Manyi. Jonas’s statement that a Gupta brother tried to bribe and threaten him in 2015 into taking over from then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene to further the family’s business interests sparked an investigation by then public protector Thuli Madonsela that led to the inquiry, headed by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo. Manyi has been described as a “Gupta crusader” and staunch supporter of former president Jacob Zuma. Manyi has claimed that the only reason the Guptas are being cast as wrongdoers is because they were disrupting the business elite from taking advantage of South Africans. “The crime the Guptas have committed is to disrupt the white monopoly capital in their eating,” he said. “I do not have a problem of a Gupta-phobia. If you associat...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.