Mathews Phosa’s former butler, Jan Venter, is set to be his secret weapon in the R20-million defamation battle between the former ANC treasurer general and publisher Jacana Media.
Phosa is suing Jacana Media and journalist Rehana Rossouw, the author of the book, “Predator Politics: Mabuza, Fred Daniel, and the Great Land Scam”, for defamation of character.
Venter entered the fray on Wednesday, voluntarily stating that he is prepared to testify in Phosa’s favour to refute all allegations attributed to him in the book.
His testimony will, however, always be taken with a pinch of salt after he previously made a U-turn in court in the battle between Phosa and former deputy president David Mabuza, claiming that the latter paid him to lie.
But this time, Venter uses this past to his advantage. He says that if Rossouw had done her research, she would have noticed that he had retracted all allegations he had made against Phosa to the media.
Phosa’s lawyers met Venter in holding cells on Wednesday at the Hatfield magistrate’s court in Pretoria, where he was due to answer an unrelated fraud case. He has been incarcerated at Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Centre during the trial.
In the statement to Phosa’s lawyers, Venter stated: “I read Phosa’s high court papers. He is right that Rehana abused her powers as a book writer. Most of the things she claimed I said, if she had done her homework, she would have realised that what I told the tabloids was a lie.”
He continued: “Rehana never had a right to copy me or mention my name in any of those articles, whatsoever. She abused the fact that she wanted to make money out of a book for sensation. Everything she wrote about Phosa is sensational; there are no facts about it. It’s not the truth; it’s a complete lie.”
According to Jacana Media and Rossouw, they had not made any false or defamatory statements about or towards Phosa, nor had they “infringed on or attacked his dignity and reputation.” However, if the court found any statements in the book to be defamatory, Jacana Media and Rossouw claimed they acted lawfully.
But what is in it for Venter? In return for bolstering their case, Venter told Phosa’s lawyers that he had three conditions. First, he takes him out of the defamation case and uses him as a witness. Second, he gets one of Phosa’s lawyers to help him with the small cases he was involved in and get him out of prison.
The third condition involves a donation or payment, which he said he would discuss personally with Phosa. “But very strong from my side is that I’m not willing to lie for anyone, including Phosa. Rehana said I helped her write the book but that is a lie.
“I actually tried to sue her after the book came out because she used my name. Most of the things she said about Phosa are utter lies. If I testify, she must
retract the book and recall it from the shelves. These books need to get off the shelf.”
In their defence against Phosa, who is also a lawyer, Jacana and Rossouw argued in court papers that Phosa was “acting abusively and vexatiously by claiming an exorbitant amount of damages (40 times the maximum ever awarded) that he, as an officer of the court, knows, or ought reasonably to know, that this honourable court would never award.”
Jacana Media and Rossouw declined to comment on Venter’s latest claims.
