Architects disprove Vytjie Mentor’s description of Gupta residence

Vytjie Mentor was questioned about her visit to the house in 2010 where she claims the controversial family offered her the position of public enterprises minister.

A screengrab of Vytjie Mentor giving testimony at the Zondo Commission on 12 February 2019.

Clement Manyathela | 66 days ago

JOHANNESBURG - Architects who inspected the Guptas’ Saxonwold compound have told the state capture commission that former African National Congress Member of Parliament Vytjie Mentor’s description of the compound differed from what they witnessed.

Earlier this week, Mentor was questioned about her visit to the house in 2010 where she claims the controversial family offered her the position of public enterprises minister while then-President Jacob Zuma was in another room.

• Witness corroborates Vytjie Mentor’s claims of Gupta ministerial job offer

During her testimony last year, Mentor described the house, saying there were marble stairs, bathrooms with gold finishes, exquisite mirrors and a chef.

Erna Wiese, an architect with the Department of Public Works, visited the Guptas' residence to confirm this.

"When we were shown the guest bathroom, we were expecting a gilded bathroom very elaborate but we found a fairly dated guest bathroom with hardly any gold finishes in it."

While some may argue that it’s unfair to expect Mentor to remember in detail features of the Guptas’ residence that she allegedly visited almost a decade ago, she insisted on giving a description of the house when she testified in August, saying she remembers everything.

(Edited by Thapelo Lekabe)

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Architects disprove Vytjie Mentor’s description of Gupta residence

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