Mark Pamensky is one lucky guy, according to his testimony on Thursday, before the commission of inquiry chaired by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo.
And a great deal of that luck involved the Gupta family.
Pamensky's good fortune began when he attended the infamous Gupta wedding at Sun City in 2013, he told the Zondo Commission. He said he knew none of the Gupta family members but they sent an invitation to his then employer Blue Label Telecoms.
“I took the invitation and went because I am single, everyone else is married and I went to Sun City,” Pamensky told evidence leader advocate Pule Seleka and Zondo.
“Are you suggesting the Gupta family just sent an invitation to a company they [did not know] anything about?” asked Zondo. Pamensky responded with an emphatic “yes”.
Clause for concern: Eskom board gave billions to Guptas ‘by mistake’
Chief justice Zondo was also at a loss as to how Eskom's board failed to notice a clause that saw the money going to the Guptas.
Not only did Pamensky attend the wedding, but he also presented the newlyweds with a gift.
Zondo chuckled. “It just sounds strange that they would send an invitation to a company that they never had any interactions with.”
TimesLIVE
Just R20 for the first month. Support independent journalism by subscribing to our digital news package. 