Tell me why I should recuse myself‚ judge asks Manyi

Acting Judge Fiona Dippenaar has asked former government spin doctor Mzwanele Manyi to provide reasons why she should recuse herself from his defamation case.

On Thursday, Manyi‚ through his counsel Vuyani Ngalwana‚ asked Dippenaar to recuse herself from the defamation case brought against Manyi by billionaire entrepreneur Magdalena Wierzycka.

Manyi's application stems from the fact that Dippenaar comes from the same group of chambers as Wierzycka's counsel David Unterhalter SC.

"I will require a written application. The applicant [Manyi] should file his application by 4pm and the respondent should file answering papers by 6pm‚" Dippenaar ruled.

The application will be dealt with on Friday.

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 seeking an order to declare statements Manyi made against her on Twitter and Facebook — including that she was guilty of economic “terrorism” — defamatory.

Manyi fought back‚ arguing that his statements were not unlawful and that there was no urgency in Wierzycka's application. He wants the court to strike the matter off the roll.