Ex-KZN Hawks' claim that Gupta meeting was 'unexpected' is not true - Duduzane
7 October 2019
Former president Jacob Zuma's son, Duduzane Zuma, told the Zondo commission on Monday that he only met with former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head General Johan Booysen on a social basis.
"To start off, the interactions between myself and Booysen were on a social basis and we discussed a lot of weird and wonderful things, but on a social basis," Zuma explained at the commission of inquiry into state capture.
Booysen previously implicated Zuma in his evidence when he claimed Zuma had unexpectedly driven him to the Gupta family home in a black Rolls Royce.
He said when he entered the house they were asked to hand over their phones and were introduced to Rajesh "Tony" Gupta. The meeting happened on August 16, 2015.
Booysen said Tony Gupta brought up the fact that he was shortlisted as a possible candidate to head up the Hawks, News24 reported.
Zuma corrected Booysen's evidence by stating that at the time it was a white Rolls Royce not black.
"I was doing very well chair," Zuma joked.
While he admits he drove Booysen to the Saxonworld compound, he claims that it was purely for the purposes of a meet and greet due to prior discussions when Booysen inquired about the controversial family.
"Prior to this specific day, he would always ask questions about the Gupta family… He would raise questions about what their story is. I said, look one day if there is an opportunity, I'll take you to meet them like I have taken a lot of people just to get a perspective.
"This leads us to this day. This would have been a weekend not, a weekday. I am not too sure about the office, the plan was to go to 5 Saxonwold and that is exactly what he did," Zuma said.
Booysen previously told the commission that the purpose of the meeting was for Tony Gupta to tell him that "should he be appointed, although he did not say that, is that he probably would have had a hand in my appointment and that he [Booysen] might have been indebted to him [Tony Gupta], although it was never said, those were his [Booysen's] conclusions".
Evidence leader advocate Phillip Mokoena SC put it to Zuma that it was Booysen's evidence that he did not know he was going to the Gupta compound on that day.
"That is not true," Zuma said in response.
The inquiry continues.
