ANALYSIS

Ajay Gupta had the swagger, the Hawks did the mopping up

Testimony at the State Capture Inquiry has painted a picture of entrenched Gupta pressure, access to key information and the use of police to clean up the mess

30 August 2018 - 07:00
By ranjeni munusamy AND Ranjeni Munusamy
Ajay Gupta and his younger brother Atul. File photo.
Image: MARTIN RHODES Ajay Gupta and his younger brother Atul. File photo.

The Guptas were in the know about everything that moved in government, brother Ajay was the guy with the swagger and the threats, and the Hawks were there to do the mop-up operation.

These are the common threads in the testimony of the three material witnesses at the state capture commission of inquiry so far.

Although former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas, former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor and former Government Communication and Information Systems (GCIS) CEO Themba Maseko had different interactions over different times with the Guptas, there are commonalities in their evidence that reveal how the state capture operation was executed.

Jonas, Mentor and Maseko all interacted with the family patriarch, Ajay Gupta, who bragged about the power and influence of his family, and who made audacious demands on them.

All three were also stunned by the type of government information Ajay had access to.

Read the full story on Times Select.