Manyi’s lawyer slammed by judge

THE instructing attorney for former government spin doctor Mzwanele Manyi has been slammed for failing to file heads of argument in a defamation case filed by billionaire entrepreneur Magdalena Wierzycka against him.

Wierzycka‚ the outspoken chief executive of Sygnia Asset Management and South Africa’s wealthiest woman‚ has filed an urgent application in the South Gauteng High Court.

She is seeking an order declaring statements Manyi made against her on Twitter and Facebook – including that she was guilty of economic “terrorism”– defamatory.

The matter is due to be argued tomorrow. Last week‚ the court directed both counsels to file their heads of argument by 2pm on Monday‚ but only Wierzycka’s counsel met the deadline.

Judge Bashier Vally did not take kindly to Kagiso Dinaka’s “attitude” and “behaviour” in failing to file the heads on time.

“There was a directive from myself that the heads must be filed on Monday at 2pm‚” Vally said.

Dinaka told the court that he did not think it was urgent to file the heads as both counsels had agreed that the matter should be heard tomorrow.

“The attitude of not filing heads must stop. That conduct is unacceptable. It doesn’t allow the court to do its job‚” Vally said.

The court was also told that Dinaka’s personal assistant had refused to give the registrar his cellphone number when she called his office to inquire about the heads of argument.