High commissioner Virendra Gupta.
It was the type of chance diplomats have been known to manufacture if they fail to present themselves. On Thursday, the Indian high commission went ahead with a pre-planned press conference in Johannesburg, with high commissioner Virendra Gupta leading proceedings.
A press conference not about the Waterkloof Air Force Base, the Gupta family, or the temperature of relations between India and South Africa, but about a cultural festival, Indiafrica, that will be going ahead towards the end of May. But that was not what the media were interested in.
As soon as Gupta opened the floor to questions, they came: would any festival participants be landing at Waterkloof? Does he believe he owes South Africa an apology? Is there trouble between the local mission and the Indian government over the incident?
Gupta, despite the diplomatic cover the event presented, steered clear of details surrounding the saga. Instead, he described a deep, personal, emotional involvement with South Africa, and spoke of the "unique" and "growing" relationship between the two countries, as well as expressed satisfaction at the success of cultural exchange projects.
"I have seen several speculative and somewhat misleading reports in the media," is as close as Gupta came to specifics. "All relevant facts have been provided to [the department of international relations and cooperation]."
Hard-pressed with questions, a representative confirmed that Gupta is not related to the Gupta family who owns Sahara Computers and the New Age, and has close ties to the Zuma family – something various media outlets had been investigating.
Gupta did, however, manage to confirm central facts in the matter, along the way corroborating information previously obtained by the Mail & Guardian:
- that the first formal application to use Waterkloof was made in late February, not 4 April, as the South African government initially said;
- that the application was made to the section of the South African National Defence Force that deals with foreign military relations, and not directly to Waterkloof command, as the South African government said;
- that the motivation for using Waterkloof was dignitary security, and not because the nearby Lanseria airport could not accommodate the chartered airbus, as the Gupta family initially claimed; and
- that the Indian high commission made the request to use Waterkloof on the basis that high-level state officials would be aboard the flight.
Perhaps less revealing, Gupta also said that the Indiafrica Festival will be hosted in Johannesburg between May 13 and 24, with involvement from institutions including the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. It is aimed at young people, with events including cinema, art, music, entrepreneurship and blogging.