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Vytjie Mentor admits she was wrong, apologises to Fana Hlongwane

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Vytjie Mentor gives testimony to the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Ray Zondo. Photo: Tebogo Letsie/City Press
Vytjie Mentor gives testimony to the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Ray Zondo. Photo: Tebogo Letsie/City Press

Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor has backtracked on her previous testimony, under oath, at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, where she implicated businessman Fana Hlongwane in alleged state capture.

Mentor, who had previously said that one of the businessman that she was introduced to on board a flight to Dubai was Fana Hlongwane, has through her lawyers, written a letter to the commission apologising to Hlongwane for any embarrassment caused.

She took to her Facebook page where she released the lawyer letter, saying that she was not afraid to apologise and admit her mistake.

“I am not afraid to admit it and to apologise when I made an error. I do this with humility. But I am proud that I can recognise an error and admit it when I do recognise it. It’s me that asked both commission lawyers and my Webber Wentzel lawyers to write this letter. I asked them many weeks ago already,” she said.

Her lawyers, Webber and Wentzel, say in the letter that Mentor had “erroneously” referred to Hlongwane as the businessman that Duduzane Zuma had introduced her to.

“After reflection of those images, she has come to realise that they are not the same person she was introduced to by Mr Duduzane Zuma on the Emirates flight as “chairman”, the letter states.

The letter also says that following her testimony, she searched for images of Hlongwane online and realised that she had implicated the wrong person.

“Our client accordingly wishes to concede that she made an error in identifying the person introduced to her, in the circumstances our client wishes to furnish and herby give a sincere apology to Mr Hlongwane for any embarrassment and/or adverse imputation which the mistake might have caused,” the letter reads.

Mentor has become popular with her Facebook posts, where she had also previously said in a post in 2016 that she had been offered the ministerial position by the Guptas, something which she elaborated on during her testimony in August at the commission.

She will be appearing on November 30, after the commission said on Thursday that they needed more time to investigate her previous claims.

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