MOKOPANE – I read all the stories and heard all the speculation around the Guptas, President Jacob Zuma and certain ministers, and realised one must always trust your sixth sense.
Convinced that the Guptas ruled the country, I told my friends and family in 2009 that Zuma is not the man that calls the shots.
I was former Minister in the Presidency, Essop Pahad’s right hand from 2009 to 2011 at The Thinker, a glossy magazine that was funded by Pahad and Atul Gupta.
Already in my first week in the Sahara offices of the Guptas in Midrand there were many questions going through my mind, and as time went by, it felt to me like I was part of a mafia movie.
I wondered why Ajay and Atul Gupta had so many bodyguards that had to protect them day and night.
They arrived in a procession with the bodyguards in their expensive BMWs and left at night after a gathering in front of the gate in the street in front of the Sahara premises where they held a meeting and prayed.
The guards let slip that the Guptas estate in Saxonwold is, like the Sahara offices, full of cameras and security guards. Sitting with the Guptas’ secretaries in front of Atul and Ajay’s office, the atmosphere was unpleasant and I was told to whisper and to stand in respect as the Guptas come and go in their offices.
Lower down the corridor, next to Pahad’s office, was an office where a Hindu temple had been set so that the Guptas could worship during the day.
I befriended one of the security guards in the security room whose job it was to watch on the screens what was happening on the premises. He and the secretaries told me there had been assassination attempts on Ajay’s life, whether it was the truth, I do not know.
The Guptas’ secretaries told me that Pahad is like a grandfather to the Gupta family.
They said a former president often used the Guptas’ private jet and now that Zuma is in the top seat, he is travelling in it too, thus I believed it was Pahad who opened the doors for the Guptas to the inner circle of the ANC and the government of the day.
They showed me documents that indicated that the Gupta children go to a private school in Johannesburg under other surnames.
They also explained that the wives of the Gupta brothers got a hefty pay cheque every month, although they do not work at Sahara.
Ajay’s secretary told me that the Guptas bought Magaret Thatcher’s house and she (the secretary) was travelling with the family to Cape Town for the parliament’s opening.
She told me she also helped out at a private function at the Gupta house and was shocked at the opulence.
Some of the Guptas’ bodyguards speculate about an alleged affair between a family member and employees. My gut feel told me the same. I became aware that the Guptas and Zuma developed a close friendship; although Pahad made it clear he was not a Zuma supporter.
The bodyguards often told me in the mornings that Zuma visited the Guptas after working hours at their house.
I then noticed Zuma’s son, Duduzane, started working at the Sahara office. To me it was crystal clear that the Guptas took their new friendship with Zuma seriously.
Pahad and I were moved to the building next door where the Guptas were to later launch the New Age newspaper.
Ajay and Atul visited Pahad often in his new office and so did many politicians including Bantu Holomisa, Mangosuthu Buthelezi and even Reverend Frank Chikane.
Pahad organised a meeting for the Guptas with Susan Shabangu,the Minister of Mining and the Guptas sent their bodyguards to make sure the meeting place was safe before the schedule meeting.
The Thinker was not doing well.
Each month thousands of copies were printed with only three to four hundred being sold and I could see Pahad was worried.
During a lunch break, I spoke to the young Indian men who the Guptas brought into the country to work at Sahara who were staying in the Gupta houses in Midrand. In all the months that I worked on the Sahara premises, I did not see many happy employees. In addition to the poor pay, it was the unusual gloomy atmosphere that struck me most.
One morning Pahad’s chauffeur arrived at his home to take him to work, when he heard it was no longer necessary.
The man called me crying because he had a family to take care of, and I once again realised you are nothing more than just a number that helped to stuff the Guptas’ pockets.
Ajay’s secretary resigned in 2010 and as time moved on, it became clear to me his secretaries did not stay for long.
After I resigned, I read in the media that Pahad had broken all business ties with the Gupta family, but said their friendship remains as strong as ever.
He then ran the The Thinker from his home in Craighall Park, Johannesburg at the time.
