AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
FORMER South African Airways chairperson Dudu Myeni paid for the pre-honeymoon in Mauritius and the Gupta family paid for the Dubai honeymoon of the then cabinet minister Malusi Gigaba and his wife Norma in Mauritius.
This was disclosed by Norma during her testimony at the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
Norma’s testimony took place after attempts by her estranged husband to have it heard in camera was dismissed by Zondo. The couple are in the middle of a divorce.
Norma disclosed to the commission before travelling to Mauritius, she had met with the South African Airways chairperson Dudu Myeni at the Sheraton Hotel in Pretoria when the SAA chairperson gave her their itinerary.
She said in Dubai, they stayed at the Waldorf Hotel for seven nights.
She also alleged that:
- The Guptas gave Gigaba a white 3-series BMW as a gift. Gigaba later gifted it to his wife and the car was registered in her name. The car was taken to Gigaba’s friend to fix lights and it never came back.
- Gigaba received a wedding gift of undisclosed cash.
- Their 2011 wedding cost between R4 and R5-million and she paid for all of it in cash given to her by her husband.
- Gigaba used to collect two bags full of cash from the Guptas. These would be brought to him by his bodyguard. On one occasion one of the bags was opened and she saw lots of cash.
- Gigaba received lots of cash from AJ Gupta and said it was for ANC elections.
- She was at the Waterkloof Airbase when planes carrying guests to the Gupta wedding landed and attended the celebrations in Sun City.
- Gigaba never paid for his shopping or at restaurants and got his bodyguard to do that for him. During one shopping trip he bought her an expensive Louis Vutton bag.
- Gigaba said he would raise at least R425 000 from AJ Gupta to pay for his sister, Nozipho’s debt and get her name removed from the credit bureau blacklist.
- Gigaba funded the building renovations to his other sister Gugu’s house, using cash received from AJ Gupta.
- The Guptas had a money counter/dispenser – like an ATM – at the Saxonwold home and AJ Gupta demonstrated how it worked.
- Gigaba and AJ Gupta spoke a lot about the South Africa-Mumbai airline route.
- Around June 2020 Gigaba wanted to delete information on her electronic devices because he wanted to delete the information on them. She said he explained that he wanted to remove information that would allow the commission investigators to pinpoint where they were at certain times.
- Gigaba told her not to testify at the commission about cash or gifts.
- AJ Gupta told Gigaba about his appointment as Public Enterprise Minister three months before he was formally appointed by then President Jacob Zuma.
Norma told the commission that when Myeni’s relationship soured, she threatened to have him removed from his role as Minister of Public Enterprises and returned to Home Affairs. The threat became reality and Gigaba was hacked by it.
She said did not think that Myeni should have been SAA chair because she was not good at her job.
Norma said her estranged husband was not happy when he was appointed finance minister, to replace Pravin Gordhan because he knew that he was not the then President Jacob Zuma’s first choice. Former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe was.
She testified that she first met the Gupta family in 2011 because they had wanted to meet her son. At the first meeting, the Gupta’s gave her son a gold necklace as a gift. She also disclosed that during the visits to the Guptas’ residence in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, they had to leave their phones in the foyer before proceedings to the meeting room.
Norma said once Gigaba was appointed by Zuma as Minister of Public Enterprises, he used to visit the Guptas more often for “briefings sessions” which focussed on Transnet, the South African Airways and Eskom.
She said Gupta and Gigaba used to discuss contracts which were either coming to end and “projects”.
Gigaba told the Deputy Judge President Zondo that she was unhappy with the manner in which the commission mishandled her security in the face of threats to her life. She said she received close to a 100 threatening calls and she lived in fear. “I felt like the commission did not protect me,” she said.
She also expressed her unhappiness that her “confidential” to the commission was leaked to the media and to AJ Gupta.
Gigaba is expected to file an application to cross examine Norma.
