In a letter sent by law firm Webber Wentzel to the commission, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Mentor states that, after having given testimony, she decided to view images of Hlongwane on the internet. (Oupa Nkosi/M&G)
Investigators and evidence leaders for the Zondo commission into state capture are at the Gupta compound in Saxonwold with former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor to carry out an on-site inspection, according to Business Day.
According to the report, lawyers for the Gupta family and the inquiry arrived at the property just before 09:00 to conduct an “in loco” inspection. The inspection, which is being videotaped for the commission, is closed to the media.
It is being conducted after Ajay Gupta claimed Mentor fabricated her evidence and incorrectly described the layout, interior and exterior of the property.
During her testimony in August, Mentor gave extensive details of the décor inside the house and elicited some quips from the audience when she said she was offered “Indian curry and chai”, which she did not enjoy but accepted as a courtesy.
She said it was at the house that Ajay Gupta offered her the job of public enterprises minister, on condition that she dropped the SAA Johannesburg-to-Mumbai route that would then be taken over by Gupta company JetAirways.
Last month, the former ANC MP admitted that she may have mistakenly identified a man she was introduced to by Duduzane Zuma as Fana Hlongwane during her testimony to the Zondo commission.
In a letter sent by law firm Webber Wentzel to the commission, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Mentor states that, after having given testimony, she decided to view images of Hlongwane on the internet.
She states that, after reflecting on the images, she had come to realise that they were “not of the person [she] was introduced to by Mr Duduzane Zuma on the Emirates flight as ‘Chairman'”. — News 24