He hero-worshipped Jacob Zuma for years, but former government spin doctor Themba Maseko is willing to put his life on the line when he places the former president at the centre of the state capture scandal.
“For me, it was a question of exposing the malfeasance ... I have come to realise that he [Zuma] was a corrupt man right from the beginning,” he said, adding that he had not spoken to Zuma since exposing his involvement in the scandal that is estimated to have cost the country in excess of R100bn.
For six years, the former government communication and information system head thought he was the only one who was bullied by the Gupta family to unlawfully facilitate deals with the state.
But when former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas came forward in 2016 to confirm that the notorious family offered him the job of finance minister and a R600m bribe in lieu of diverting government deals to them, Maseko said he was emboldened to speak out about his experience in 2010.
“When I saw the Mcebisi matter, that they offered him R600m and demanded that he gives them certain things, I realised that maybe I was taking this thing too personally...