'Eskom board members were in a WhatsApp group with Tony Gupta'

The power utility’s former chairperson Zola Tsotsi testified for a second day on Wednesday.

"In one of the visits at Saxonwold, Tony Gupta produced a transcript of messages from an SMS or WhatsApp group of conversations between himself and my former board members in which they talked about the business of the company," he told the commission.

"I was taken aback and asked him where he gets this, and he said I should not worry he was just showing me that he has his sources. I took this to be a power play.”

Tsotsi said he was subsequently introduced by Tony Gupta to one of his associates Salim Essa, who eventually got involved in the affairs of Eskom.

Essa allegedly suggested a list of people he wanted to sit on one of the power utility's sub-committees.

Tsotsi told the commission that he received an email with the list of names, and when he approached then Minister of Public Enterprises Lynne Brown, she provided an identical list of names.

He said Brown pushed for that list to be implemented. 

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