Thread by @CoruscaKhaya

So #NhlanhlaNene has apologised for his lapse in judgment.

That's fine but we need to clear the air on a couple of issues.

#StateCaptureInquiry

The first problem is the use of the term 'at least' he has apologised. This is problematic. We cannot be expected to be grateful because 'at least' he apologised. As citizens we are entitled to endeavours & actions from Nene premised on 'at most/best' rather than at least.
#Nene

Secondly, more than 2 years ago, Mcebisi Jonas, @MasekoThembaJ and Vytie put their political and professional careers on the line by coming out. This was risky, dangerous and career-limiting. They did this in the interest of highlighting the #StateCapture crisis.
Nene was silent.

His silence was much louder than the actual utterances of Jonas et al. Given his stature & reputation his disclosures would have carried much greater weight than these 3 combined. Consequently this would have accelerated the unravelling of the #StateCapture phenomenon.

When the opportunity presented itself in that @eNCA interview when #Nene no longer had any political office to lose, he still chose to misrepresent the facts. This of course was simply because the political party interest trumped the national interest. @kayafm95dot9 @KayaFMTalk

The consequences of this is that the PR around Saxonwold visits centred around 2 camps - those like Jonas who were horrified to have been summoned & those like Zwane who seemed to have gleefully embraced such visits. #Nene sat out these conversations to protect his own PR profile

When the opportunity presented itself for him to submit his testimony to the Zondo Commission, he prepared an affidavit that was clearly in conflict with his previous utterances on @eNCA

How did he imagine this would not be picked up?

Was it out of hope? Intransigence? Naivety?

His apology today is not borne out of an overwhelming desire to take the country into his confidence like @MasekoThembaJ. Rather it is a by-product of the public outrage at his clearly irreconcilable accounts of his encounters with the Guptas.
He cannot get a free pass here #Nene

The visits themselves can be split into 2 - BW (before Waterkloof) and PSC (post-Sun City).
BW #Nene could legitimately say - 'The Guptas are just interested stakeholders, what harm can accrue from me meeting them for tea?'

This we can accept even if the visits were at Saxonwold

'PSC' however there is no way he could have been unaware of the inordinate sway they had over state functionaries and bureaucrats. I mean - they landed a civilian jumbo jet in a blerrie National Key Point. HELLO!
And yet PSC he still met with them. Why? #NhlanhlaNene

Bizarrely, his testimony indicates he rejected the wedding invitation due to the realisation that this was no ordinary family. In other words, he had now reconciled his mind to the reality/horror of the Guptas influence.

But guess what - he still meets them in 2014. Why?
#Nene

Then there's the actual statements he has made before. Until this week, he relegated his Gupta encounters to casual, incidental run-ins at social functions.
But now we hear these were far deeper than that. He had more visits to the Guptas than Maseko; Jonas & Mentor - combined!

More crucially, in his capacity as the Chair of the PIC, the Guptas spoke about a deal in the PIC pipeline. Given the fact that the #StateCaptureInquiry is premised on the question of the Guptas' proximity to decision-makers, omitting this fact from the public discourse is #Nene

And then there's the Des van Rooyen comparison. Des is as clueless as he looks - we all know that. Everyone knew his appointment specifically wanted to capitalise on his ineptitude at the National Treasury. The country went up in arms when he was appointed. #Nene #StateCapture

Part of the reason we went up in arms is that no one wanted anyone who had such extraordinary relationships with the Guptas to be in charge of the national wallet (I've always wanted to substitute wallet for purse here😎).

So Van Rooyen had to go. And he did.
#Nene

With this context long established, surely #NhlanhlaNene should have disclosed his encounters with the Guptas before heading back to Church Street? I will tell you now why that is relevant...
@kayafm95dot9 @KayaFMTalk

Inasmuch as Des looks like he could not even balance a cheque book to save humanity, the reason he was hounded out of the Treasury is that his proximity to the Guptas made him a risk. Van Rooyen never signed any deal but the threat of him doing so was enough. #StateCaptureInquiry

Was this threat lower under #NhlanhlaNene? Had the nuclear deal been projected to cost something he was more comfortable with would he have signed it off?
We were saved by #Nene or the absurdity of the sheer ambition and astronomical cost of Zuma's vanity project?
#StateCapture

Pravin Gordhan replaced Des in December 2015 because the markets wanted a man of integrity - i.e. as far removed from the Guptas as possible - to be in charge of the national wallet.

When #Nene returned to Church Street this year, his proximity to the Guptas was unknown.

With the benefit of hindsight - would the markets & society have responded differently to #Nene's return in February 2018 had we known about these frequent Saxonwold & Sahara tea parties?

More crucially, would the man who put him there- President @CyrilRamaphosa act differently?

And if the answer is yes - we would have all acted differently then that can only lead us to only one conclusion. That this apology is quite simply not enough... It just isn't enough.

The end.

@kayafm95dot9 @KayaFMTalk
#NhlanhlaNene
#Nene
#StateCaptureInquiry
#AsYouWere

Just a point of clarification guys, #NhlanhlaNene did not maintain an unqualified opposition to the nuclear deal. He actually moved for a phased-in approach of 2 power stations at the start. That is what he was willing to sign off. Please read from para 84 of his testimony. Thanx