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WATCH LIVE: State Capture Inquiry
(Courtesy of SABC)
12 Feb 2019
Mentor thanks Zondo and his team and says she is happy that she could help blow the whistle against state capture.
She wishes Zondo and his team well.
12 Feb 2019
Siwela voices a grievance that documents are being served a few hours before witnesses give statements.
Siwela requests that it be addressed as they don’t have the opportunity to scrutinise the document. An example of such is the recording.
Zondo says that the legal team got the recording late, adds that he did say he was unhappy about that.
12 Feb 2019
12 Feb 2019
12 Feb 2019
Mentor: "I would say a lot of time has elapsed since I went public on blowing the whistle on state capture, and since I spoke about my encounter at Saxonwold and how it came about."
Mentor: "And a lot of time also had lapsed before this commission could see the light of day. And I would say that it is possible that that length of time had given people time to interfere with records. And also some of the records that I query, I also query the authenticity of these records, or whether these records are official."
Mentor says there could have been interference with records because a lot of time has lapsed. Mentions her own struggles getting older records from her cellphone company, which makes her question Kaunda's records.
Mentor tells Zondo she is not saying that this is what happened, but there is a possibility.
12 Feb 2019
Zondo raises a point with Mentor, says it may or may not be that somebody will address him and say he shouldn't have accepted that Mentor had this encounter at Saxonwold, and look at the statements and evidence she had given and say "they are unsatisfactory for a number of reasons".
Zondo: "One of the things that maybe somebody will say is, SAA records were put up, and you had issues with them, Parliamentary records were put up, you had issues with them, Home Affairs records were put up, you had issues with them, Ms Kaunda has put up cellphone records, you have issues with them, and somebody might say 'You seem to have issues with all records' and that for that and other reasons, maybe I should not accept your version, your evidence, that indeed there was this encounter that you say you had at Saxonwold."
Zondo: "What would you say to that?"
12 Feb 2019
Mentor: "I maintain that Ms Kaunda phoned me the Sunday night before the meeting with the president (Zuma)."
12 Feb 2019
Mentor makes a distinction between the service provider's (Vodacom) records and "Ms Kaunda's own records". Mentor says the service provider does not provide records from five years ago.
12 Feb 2019
Zondo and Cowley try to ascertain with Mentor if she had made contact with Kaunda in any manner other than the SMSes she already mentioned.
Mentor: "What I recall is the SMS conversations before the Sunday night call."
Cowley tells Mentor that Kaunda's phone records, obtained from her service provider, do not show any interaction with Mentor's number for that month of October (2010).
12 Feb 2019
Mentor says she didn't communicate with Kaunda, per se, but rather the office of the presidency.
12 Feb 2019
Cowley asks Mentor if she still maintains she communicated with Kaunda via SMS before the meeting in question.
Mentor says yes.
12 Feb 2019
Cowley asks Mentor if she still persists with her version of Kaunda contacting her to set up the "Johannesburg meeting" (with the Guptas and Zuma). Mentor says yes, she does, except for the matter of the date (August or September), which was discussed in length earlier today.
12 Feb 2019
Advocate Henry Cowley SC, for Lakela Kaunda, is now up and introduces himself to Zondo. Zondo allocates half an hour for the cross-examination.
12 Feb 2019
On the issue of the request by Advocate Mike Hellens, for Ajay Gupta, to have the Guptas' recording of the in loco inspection at Saxonwold submitted into evidence, Zondo says he is "disinclined" to grant the request.
12 Feb 2019
Mentor says she will address the issue of a complaint about Zuma, during her cross-examination by Mtolo's legal counsel.
12 Feb 2019
Zondo tells Sello "It will be dealt with... Let us move on."
Sello asks Mentor if she detected any discrepancies between the recordings and the transcripts. Mentor says Mtolo's recording of the meeting starts nine minutes later than her recording of the same meeting.
Mentor says Mtolo claims that when he met Mentor, in December, he was alone, but Mentor insists that in both instances he was not alone.
12 Feb 2019
Sello has introduced Mandla Mtolo's statement, and noted that Mentor had provided a recording of one of her meetings with Mtolo to the commission. Mentor says that her legal team asked that the recording should be made available, as should the transcript of the recording.
Zondo once again reprimands the commission's legal team, regarding the recording in question, saying it should have been submitted into evidence during or shortly after Mentor's first round of testimony last year. It however was only submitted into evidence last week Friday.
Sello again apologises to Zondo, and to Mentor as well, and says the commission has failed Mentor in this regard.
12 Feb 2019
After Zondo's carefully considered response to Mentor, she thanks Zondo for his fairness and his "balanced approach".
12 Feb 2019
Mentor tells Zondo she is not a lawyer and doesn't quite understand some procedural things, and asks Zondo for the opportunity to get something off her chest. Zondo suggests she consults with her legal team, and if she still doesn't get the answers she seeks, she can come to the commission and put the questions to Zondo.
Mentor insists that she wants to address Zondo now, on the issue, and he allows it.
