There is an orchestrated move to discredit the public protector – Manyike

Former Sars employee and tax law interpreter Keletso Bizoski Manyike opened another can of worms on Monday after making a U-turn on the Sunday Times report.

In an interview with JJ Tabane on Your View, Manyike admitted to being interviewed by investigate journalist Jacques Pauw and told him he was not involved in the so-called rogue unit.

“He was saying that I was involved in the rogue unit as an agent. I was not. According to the report from the PP, it’s indicated that I’m the one who reported the matter as the person who was directly involved. I said no, I was not directly involved. I was indirect in the sense that I was a full-time shop steward,” he said.

Manyike further said he believed the so-called rogue unit existed and claimed it was an undercover unit. He also dropped a few prominent names and claimed they knew of its existence.

“These guys serve as a national research group. They kept on changing names but the staff remained. All those staff members, the one I’ve met and the other one, they had no less than 10 access cards with the same face but different names.

“Those staff members are called ghost workers because they’re not supposed to be seen.

“It was an undercover thing because someone told me he knew about the budget of the unit but had never seen a single employee of the unit,” he told Tabane.

Manyike further slammed Pauw for describing him as an “unemployed, dope-smoking Rastafarian” and backed public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.

“There is a calculated and orchestrated move to discredit the office of the PP because they think I’m the key witness, but they don’t know I’m only one of many witnesses. There is more that has not been revealed, trust me. There are many who have refused to speak out until they are guaranteed protection from the NPA.

“I felt insulted by the description. As a lawyer, I thought it was defaming my name, my integrity and my intelligence. I was appalled, I was shocked, to say the least.”

Speaking to Eusebius McKaiser on 702 on Monday, Pauw apologised to Manyike.

“I apologise if I caused any hurt or discomfort,” Pauw said after McKaiser confronted him on this issue, asking why it was “relevant that the guy smoked marijuana and is a member of the Rastafari community and unemployed?”

“I should have told the Sunday Times to cut that [part of the report] out,” Pauw conceded.

Also read: Jacques Pauw challenges Mkhwebane to reveal meeting details with Manyike

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