Pubdate: Mon, 24 May 2004
Source: Mail and Guardian (South Africa)
Copyright: Mail & Guardian, 2004
Contact:  http://www.mg.co.za/mg/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/254
Author: Riaan Wolmarans

FASSIE MANAGER DENIES DRUG CLAIMS

The Sunday Times newspaper on Monday reacted to claims by Peter Snyman, the 
late Brenda Fassie's manager, that the paper had inaccurately reported his 
statements about Fassie in a story titled "Brenda Fassie poison probe".

The report said: "The Sunday Times can confirm that preliminary post-mortem 
results found that Fassie had died from a drug overdose. However, an 
inquest into her death has now been launched after doctors established that 
the singer had died of unnatural causes."

It added that "Peter Snyman, Fassie's manager, said he had evidence that 
the drugs she took had been 'tampered' with. He said there was enough 
evidence to show that the crack cocaine Fassie used was laced with a lethal 
rat poison ... Snyman said he and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela would ask 
police to question a young woman who was known to have been close to the 
singer. The woman -- not Fassie's lover, Gloria Chaka -- visited the star 
at her Buccleuch home in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Sunday April 25."

In Monday's statement Sunday Times editor Mondli Makhanya said: "The Sunday 
Times subscribes to the highest standards of accuracy and imposes the most 
stringent checks on its reporting."

Snyman has now denied saying Fassie had taken drugs the night before she 
was taken to hospital, or that the drugs had been 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.

According to the Sunday Times statement, Snyman had told the paper: "At the 
moment I got information, so strong and very reliable. At the moment in 
Jo'burg, 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 w=D4ho is in [a] coma right now.

"I have not done enough investigation into this thing. You know what 
Nigerians do in Jo'burg? 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 Sunday Times reporter had asked: "Does that look like the drug that 
Brenda took the night before she collapsed?"

Snyman had replied: "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."

The Sunday Times said Snyman phoned Chicco Twala, Brenda's producer, last 
Thursday to tell him officially that he [Snyman] had discovered that the 
drug that killed Brenda was laced with Rattex.

Twala told the Sunday Times on Monday that he is "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 also 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," he said.

However, Snyman had reportedly told the Sunday Times: "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.

"We suspect a 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 also claims he has not seen any post-mortem report.

"To the best of my knowledge, no one, not even the family, has seen the 
report."

But, according to the newspaper statement, he had said: "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 [all has] 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 Jo'burg on Wednesday -- the report is 
at my house. Why can't you phone the family, they also have the report." 
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart