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Paper stands by poison story
24/05/2004 22:31 - (SA)
Cape Town - The Sunday Times has responded to the "denial" by Peter Snyman, Brenda Fassie's manager, of their report on the "Brenda Fassie poison probe".
Snyman claims that he denied saying Fassie had taken drugs the night before she was taken to hospital, or that the drugs were tampered with.
"What we did discuss (with Sunday Times reporters) was that drug dealers sometimes used the types of techniques described in the (newspaper) piece," Snyman said on Sunday.
However, the Sunday Times claims that Snyman told them: "At the moment I got information, so strong and very reliable. At the moment in Joburg, there is a substance on the street, it looks like cocaine but it's not cocaine, it's called Thai white but it's pure heroin. And if you smoke that you die. There is a guy who is in coma right now.
"I have not done enough investigation into this thing. You know what Nigerians do in Joburg? You know cocaine comes in plastic bags, they pour half out, they fill the other half with Rattex (a rat poison) or what is the other one? - baby powder. Out of one packet, they make two. That's how they make their money, these guys are ruthless."
A strong suspicion
The Sunday Times reporter asked: "Does that look like the drug that Brenda took the night before she collapsed?"
Snyman replied that "it could be but I was not there and I don't have the coroner's report in front of me. I can't make, now how can I put it, I can't confirm it or deny it. But we have a strong suspicion that her drugs was tampered with."
(Last Thursday, Snyman phoned Chicco Twala, Brenda's producer, to officially tell him that he had discovered that the drug that killed Brenda was laced with Rattex.)
Twala told the Sunday Times on Monday that he was "just surprised that now he (Snyman) is publicly denying everything. He told me the same story as it appeared in the Sunday Times."
Snyman has denied discussing with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela the matter of the police questioning anybody. "What I did say was we would like to speak to the person who was with her the night before she died, to shed some light on what happened".
The Sunday Times says Snyman told them that "Gloria (Chaka, Fassie's lover) is not the person I want investigated. There is another person, who came to the house and spent the night there. I won't give you names but that is the girl I would want questioned because I told Mama Winnie about it and she is looking into it.
"Because that girl, the next day when she came to the hospital, she could not look me in the face, she just ran away when she saw me.
Off the record
"We suspect foul play. We are busy looking into that, I cannot make allegations in newspapers just in case it is not true, that girl can sue the shit out of me. Look, we discussed it with Mama Winnie, after the funeral, we will question this girl and if we think there is something, we will report it."
Snyman claims he had not seen any post mortem report. "To the best of my knowledge, no-one, not even the family, has seen the report."
The Sunday Times says that Snyman told them: "I have the report because I have the power of attorney. It was released to me sometime this week. Her death is drug related, that's off the record, we agree?.
"If, I understand it correctly, it is all have to do with all the drugs she has been taking over the years. But I am not a doctor, so I cannot tell you exactly what killed her.
"Phone Sunninghill Hospital and speak to Dr Ballhausen, if you are lucky she can read you the report. I cannot give you the copy of the report, I am in Cape Town right now and I would be back in Joburg on Wednesday - the report is at my house. Why can't you phone the family, they also have the report?"
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