MPs told of shock encounter with Ajay

ESKOM’S suspended head of legal services, Suzanne Daniels, dropped a succession of bombshells at the parliamentary inquiry into the utility.

She described the commanding power of the Gupta family and implicated Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown and top officials in corrupt dealings with their business empire.

Daniels told MPs that Ajay Gupta wanted to manipulate the court dates of the case into former chief executive Brian Molefe’s pension payout so the matter would be heard after the ANC’s elective conference next month.

She said Salim Essa, a prominent business associate of the Gupta brothers, called her to Melrose Arch on July 29 this year, and took her to a townhouse where she was confronted by Ajay Gupta, President Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane and Deputy Public Enterprises Minister Ben Martins.

“As we walked into the lounge area, there were four people who I was introduced to.

“(They were) Ajay Gupta, Duduzane Zuma, Ben Martins and a Chinese lady whose name I cannot remember because at this point I was actually speechless,” Daniels said.

She said Gupta, in bare feet and tracksuit pants, asked when the legal challenge to Molefe’s R30 million pension payout from Eskom would be heard.

She replied that no date had been set and, because more parties were joining the court proceedings, this needed to be discussed with the office of the deputy judge president (DJP).

“He said he will then have to talk to someone in the DJP’s office (to) make sure the hearing takes place after December.”

Daniels said Gupta then said “something about Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma”.

“There was some mumbling, then I left. It felt like I was in a movie. I was really praying to God that they don’t kill me, because I thought I had walked into a trap.”

In reply to a question from MPs, Daniels confirmed she had received death threats and experienced attempts to break into her home.

She believed that, contrary to Brown’s statements to Parliament, the minister had been aware of the machinations to allow Molefe to retire at 50 with full pension benefits, although he was not eligible for a pension because he was appointed on a fixed-term contract. – ANA