Former government spokesman Mzwanele "Jimmy" Manyi told the state capture commission of inquiry on Monday, that there is no evidence that the fugitive Gupta family and their associates are implicated in the state capture scandal.
Manyi, who later became the owner of the The New Age newspaper and ANN7 news channel, both previously owned by the Guptas, said he had listened in at the commission and could not find evidence that pointed to the Guptas being at the centre of capturing the State.
Evidence leader Vincent Maleka had asked him if he had reasons to doubt testimonies by ex-deputy minister Mcebisi Jonas, former Treasury director-general Lungile Fuzile, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and Manyi's predecessor at Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), Themba Maseko.
He said he did not listen to ex-finance minister Nhlanhla Nene's evidence, and that he "lost concentration" as Gordhan testified last week. He had doubts about Jonas, Fuzile and Maseko's testimonies, Manyi added.
Manyi took over at GCIS from Themba Maseko in 2011. Maseko was fired, allegedly for not doing the Guptas bidding.
Maseko testified at the commission that he was under pressure from the Guptas to channel R600 million in government advertising spend to the family's newspaper. He was then fired and replaced by Manyi.
In 2017, Manyi's Lodidolox acquired ANN7 for R300 million and The New Age for R150 million from the Guptas through vendor financing. The companies were liquidated this year following a decline in heavily relied on government advertising and non-payment of staff.
African News Agency (ANA)
