Johannesburg - Former minister Malusi Gigaba and his estranged wife, Norma, are both scheduled to give evidence at the Zondo commission on Friday.
Norma, who is using her maiden surname, Mngoma, had to be rescheduled to continue her evidence on Friday morning after a serious security threat forced the commission to adjourn suddenly on Thursday evening.
Shortly before 7pm, evidence-leader advocate Anton Myburgh abruptly stopped leading evidence and told the commission that he had just been informed about a serious security threat which was “a protector-related issue”.
The session adjourned for a few minutes and upon its return, Judge Raymond Zondo announced that proceedings had been forced to adjourn for the evening.
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The details of the security threat are unclear.
However, before proceedings were brought to a sudden halt, Mngoma was giving explosive evidence about her husband’s relationship with the Gupta family and their stronghold on him.
She said she advised Gigaba to tell the truth at the Zondo commission. Instead, he arranged for an IT specialist to come to their home to clear out Gupta-related data on their electronic devices.
When Mngoma refused, she said the Hawks arrived at her home and confiscated her cellphones, laptop and iPad. When they were returned to her, Gupta-related evidence had disappeared.
She told the commission that her husband and Ajay Gupta shared a close relationship and the couple often visited and had lunch with Ajay and his family at their Saxonwold compound.
Gigaba denied most of Mngoma’s allegations, including that he was involved with the infamous 2013 Waterkloof landing, that he knew about key appointments and changes in the government before it happened or that he received bags of cash and lavish gifts from the Gupta family.
Mngoma stood by her affidavit and told the commission that she did not know why Gigaba was protecting the Guptas.
The inquiry is set to start at 9am with Mngoma’s evidence and then Gigaba will take the stand.
kailene.pillay@inl.co.za
Political Bureau