State capture whistleblower Themba Maseko appointed director at Wits

The Witwatersrand University (Wits) appointed former GCIS head Themba Maseko as director at its School of Governance.

Maseko is the unit’s new executive director of education.

ALSO READ: Former GCIS CEO Themba Maseko’s removal ‘was an instruction’

The former government spokesperson was one of the senior civil servants hailed for refusing to do the bidding for the fugitive Gupta family, who exercised immense influence in government under former president Jacob Zuma.

Most of the highly-skilled officials were either removed or resigned, and were replaced with more pliable lackeys to amplify state capture.

Zuma removed Maseko from GCIS in 2011, replacing him with Jimmy Manyi, the former owner of the now-defunct Gupta media outlets.

Maseko testified at the state capture commission of inquiry about his time at GCIS.

The first part of the report released two weeks ago noted that the Guptas’ earliest move to capture the State happened at the GCIS upon the removal of Maseko.

With Manyi at the helm, the Guptas syphoned funds from the department to fund The New Age newspaper in 2010.

“Mr Manyi was correct that GCIS was an “enabler department” under his watch, but not in the sense that he meant it. GCIS was an enabler of state capture during Mr Manyi’s tenure. Had it not been for the fact that Mr Manyi was moved in to replace Mr Maseko, the GCIS would likely have resisted the Guptas’ incessant pressure on government departments to divert their media spend to their business,” read the Zondo report.

Maseko has written a book titled ‘For My Country: Why I Blew The Whistle on Zuma and the Guptas’

ALSO READ: Zuma lied, Maseko tells state capture commission