Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor has began her testimony on Tuesday by telling the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture that she was shocked at how Ajay Gupta had privy information that pertained to government officials.
Mentor is continuing to give her evidence at the commission underway in Parktown, Johannesburg.
She says Ajay Gupta mentioned information to her on a Denel issue that was top secret. She says she was shocked that Ajay Gupta knew about it.
She went on to reveal that as soon as former President Jacob Zuma arrived at the Gupta Saxonwold compound, she immediately told him that Ajay Gupta had offered her a ministerial post and plans for a cabinet reshuffle.
Mentor says as she tried to alert Zuma as to what had happened, he did not address the issue but simply calmed her down.
On Monday she detailed her various encounters with the Gupta brothers, Duduzane Zuma and former President Jacob Zuma while she was Chair of the Public Enterprises Committee of Parliament.
The Inquiry has been urged to allow implicated individuals at the commission, who want to cross-examine witnesses, to do so with conditions. Implicated persons whose names have come up in the Inquiry have asked Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to allow them to cross examine witnesses.
In her testimony on Monday, Mentor implicated the then Head of Private Office Lakela Kaunda, saying Kaunda had set up a meeting between her and former President Jacob Zuma.
Last week, former deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas accused Hawks Major General Zinhle Mnonopi of deliberately trying to sabotage the investigation into the Guptas’ alleged attempt to bribe him. Legal team member Vincent Maleka has urged Deputy Chief Justice Zondo to address these concerns.
