In death, ‘Mam Vytjie’ rises above ‘her moment of weakness’

ActionSA national spokesperson Lerato Ngobeni says the memory of the party’s Western Cape chair, Vytjie Mentor, 58, who died early yesterday, cannot be reduced to a moment of weakness during her testimony at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

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Ngobeni said the party was not fazed by what people were saying in the media, nor on social media, about Mentor, as many accused her of lying at the state capture commission of inquiry.

“We’re very proud of mam Vytjie,” she said. “She was a very sober person, a very robust person and we are proud of the work that she has done in her lifetime. “We found her as somebody credible, who had integrity, somebody who loved her country and gave her life to serving the country,” she said.

“We have all had our moments of weakness,” she said, referring to Mentor’s testimony at the state capture commission of inquiry, “and if that was hers, so be it. “At this point, we only are looking into paying tribute to her and to making sure that her legacy is not forgotten as we support her family at this terrible time.”

The commission found that Mentor was an unreliable witness. Ngobeni said until one had been subjected to ridicule and put their lives on the line to do what was right, people criticising Mentor were speaking as unchecked critics.

In death, ‘Mam Vytjie’ rises above ‘her moment of weakness’ “There’ll always be people who like you, people who respect your work, and then they’ll be those who criticise you or who critique you.

We will not be condoning nor entertaining vitriol and violence against her memory, [nor] people who want to just spread toxicity.”

Communications officer for Defend Our Democracy Duduetsang Mmeti paid tribute to Mentor: “To say she lied is one thing, but we also need to acknowledge that she contributed immensely to reporting and exposing state capture and corruption, something that cannot be dismissed.”

Mentor exposed how the Guptas were capturing the country.

“She gave us insight into what exactly happened, as we see now with other revelations and testimony made at the state capture commission.”

Mmeti said Mentor’s death had come at a time when the organisation is commemorating the one year anniversary of whistle-blower Babita Deokaran’s death.

Mmeti said they had seen how those who wanted to report corruption did not feel safe to do so because some were harassed or – as in the case of Deokaran and many other whistle-blowers – were murdered.

“Our call to government, in particular, is to put legislation and policies in place that protect whistle-blowers.”

Ngobeni said Mentor had been in the party since the early stages of its formation and had been a chair, as well as serving in the senate.

“The party is very deeply saddened by her passing. “A couple of months ago we did announce she would be stepping back from her duties due to illness.

“It’s been a long time – however, we were hopeful she would make a full recovery and kick back into the stream of things. But, unfortunately, that was not to be,” she said.

“During her term as the chair in the Western Cape, we launched many branches. Our prospects in the Western Cape look very good at this time, at this point.

“It becomes difficult to even talk about our political progress in the Western Cape when we are mourning her death.”

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