Free State Premier MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae has hired advocate Zola Majavu in a desperate attempt to save her from the widely publicised allegations of corruption made against her and husband, Lawrence Mathae, by businessman Patrick Phuti.
Phuti alleged he has been showering the embattled Letsoha-Mathae and her husband, also the City of Mangaung speaker, with gifts and millions of rands.
Last week on Friday, Majavu sent a scathing letter to Phuti of New Beginnings Projects, instructing him to clarify his allegations of corruption against the premier.
In the letter we have seen, Majavu informed Phuti that he had been provided with an excerpt of a text message he had sent to Letsoha-Mathae, in which he was raging that he had bankrolled the premier and her husband.
“We wish to confirm that you confirm that you are indeed the author thereof or disavow it. In any event, we have been furnished with sufficient evidence linking you to unlawful conduct. It is a matter of public record that such a text message has been deliberately and wilfully circulated by you and other recipients, and, as fate would have it, it has ‘been trending’ like wildfire on steroids in the manner of speaking,” said Majavu in his letter to the businessman.
He added: “Our client is her persona distinct from her ex-husband. To the extent that you might have an axe to grind with her ex-husband, you were directed to raise such issues or make those allegations directly, ‘mano a mano’. Your deliberate reference to ‘the Mathae family’ is mischievous,” said Majavu.
Majavu, who is also a senior prosecutor of the Professional Soccer League, also told Phuti that Letsoha-Mathae was denying the allegations.
The lawyer stated that Phuti should report such allegations to law enforcement agencies.
“This challenge to you is made mindful that our client, in her capacity as a premier and consequently, a public servant, as well as an ordinary citizen in her own right, does not locate herself above the law.
“Our client views the allegations contained in the said text message in a very serious light and is extremely aggrieved by such unfounded allegations, which undoubtedly affect her good reputation and dignity as a leader in society,” said Majavu.
In the story we published last week, Phuti asserted that he was in a corrupt relationship with the premier and her husband. He claimed to have purchased a Mercedes Benz V 300 Class for the speaker, delivered R3-million in cash to Letsoha-Mathae, and blessed her with R500 000.
Majavu said the premier was prepared to fully cooperate with law enforcement agencies. “If you do not disavow the said text message, our client expressly demands that you issue a public apology and distribute it in the same format, or, if you persist in asserting the correctness of what you have recorded in the text message, challenge you to report her alleged conduct to the law enforcement agencies immediately. Our client further demands that you immediately desist from further disseminating those untruths…”
The top lawyer also issued an ultimatum to Phuti to reply to his letter by Friday of last week, but the businessman did not.
The lawyers of Tau Pele Construction wrote a letter claiming the tenderpreneur’s text message prompted the EFF to file criminal complaints against Letsoha-Mathae, implicating its managing director Frans Bouwer in the handover of R2-million to Phuti for the premier’s benefit.
Two weeks ago, Tau Pele was awarded the contract to replace New Beginnings for the R269-million road maintenance project on the stretch of road between Tweespruit and Excelsior in the Free State.
“Our client intends to hold you personally liable for any repercussions that the unfounded allegations levelled against our client might have. You are requested to refrain from attempting to put our client’s name into disrepute. Should you persist with any further malicious and false allegations, our client intends to approach the high court on an urgent basis for an interdict,” said Sonel Pienaar of Peyper
Attorneys.
Majavu declined to comment about the letter he sent to Phuti.
