Former MTN SA boss Maanda
Manyatshe will square off in
court tomorrow against the
forensic auditor he hired to
defend him against allegations
of
fraud and corruption,
dating back to his tenure as CEO
of the South
African Post Office (SAPO).
Henderson Solutions CEO Bart
Henderson is suing Manyatshe for
R6.2 million, claiming
non-payment by the latter, after
spending two years as a key
strategist successfully clearing
the ex-MTN boss's name.
The lawsuit was
filed in late 2010, but
has been dogged by several
delays. Henderson's lawyer,
Louise Viljoen, says the parties
are finally set to argue
technicalities relating to the
claim tomorrow.
The matter will be heard in
the Western Cape, but
Manyatshe's lawyers are arguing
that it should be moved to
Johannesburg, as that is where
he is domiciled, says Viljoen.
The defence has also raised
issues with the claim, and
Viljoen explains that once the
technicalities have been ironed
out, a date for arguments on the
merits of the case can be set,
but this is not likely to happen
this year.
In court papers filed
earlier, Henderson details how
he was hired by Manyatshe in
2006, who was, at the time,
facing allegations of tender
irregularities to the amount of
R2 billion, levelled against him
by SAPO, of which he was CEO
until 2004. Manyatshe
subsequently took up the top
position at Africa's largest
cellular operator, but stepped
down two years later, amid the
accusations made against him by
his former employer.
SAPO also made similar
allegations against
architectural design agency
Vision Design House (VDH), which
received the tender to upgrade
various post office branches.
However, both Manyatshe and
VDH where cleared of any
wrongdoing, without ever facing
any charges in a court of law.
Manyatshe subsequently sued SAPO
for R270 million for
reputational damage.
Henderson argues he has not
been paid by Manyatshe, despite
an agreement that he would earn
10% of the settlement with SAPO.
Manyatshe settled for an
apology, which would only
entitle Henderson to “10% of
nothing”, a settlement Henderson
says he would never have
sanctioned.
The claim for R6.2 million is
based on the 450 days Henderson
spent clearing Manyatshe's name.
He also claims an alternative
amount of R5.4 million, which he
could have earned had he not
wasted the hours working on
Manyatshe's case.
Confidential
Meanwhile, Henderson has
publicly revealed that, during
his defence of Manyatshe, he
relied extensively on documents
supplied to him by Manyatshe,
which merits questioning the
source and origin of these
documents.
He says it must be questioned
who supplied Manyatshe with
confidential ministerial
documents, post office board
minutes, a ministerial
investigation draft and final
documents, copies of
confidential internal letters to
the SAPO board, internal
communiqués from the desk of the
minister of communications, and
internal letters from the desk
of the chairman of the post
office.
ITWeb is in possession of
copies of several of the
aforementioned documents, but
Manyatshe has refused to be
drawn on his sources, or the
potential implications of these
documents coming into his
possession.
In response to a list of
questions sent to him via his
lawyer, Manyatshe stated that
the current lawsuit and the
documents “have nothing to do
with each other”. He also
refused to make any comment
ahead of tomorrow's hearing.
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