Mahlamba Ndlopfu employee confirms Zuma, Guptas ‘met often’ to discuss ANN7
A former manager at the presidential residence in Pretoria Mahlamba Ndlopfu has corroborated the testimony of former ANN7 editor Rajesh Sundaram that former president Jacob Zuma was involved in the establishment of the channel.
Ramaru Mekgwe, who is now the household manager at the Union Buildings, appeared before the commission of inquiry into state capture on Thursday.
He confirmed that Sundaram's description of the meeting rooms at Mahlamba Ndlopfu was correct, the only discrepancies related to where he said the TV's were situated in both rooms.
Sundaram said he and the Guptas met with Zuma often to discuss the establishment of the channel in 2012 and 2013.
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He also wrote a book ‘Indentured-Behind the Scenes at Gupta TV’.
"This was in 2013 according to the book, the only thing that I would say is the TV was not mounted on the wall, it was in a cabinet. I also had a chance to check the meeting room recently and it is completely different," said Mekgwe.
He also confirmed that the home did not have any metal detectors or security checks in 2013 as detailed in Sundaram's book.
Mekgwe also confirmed he saw the Gupta brothers at Mahlamba Ndlopfu, but said it would be difficult to confirm how often they visited the residence due to the lack of records.