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Speaking at the State Capture Investigation on Friday, former Eskom board chairman Ben Ngubane has denied knowledge that his statement announcing the departure of his predecessor Zola Tsotsi was made by the Guptas.
A screenshot of former Eskom board chairman Ben Ngubane who appeared in the state capture investigation on September 11, 2020. Image: SABC / YouTube
JOHANNESBURG – Former chairman of the Eskom and South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) board, Dr. Ben Ngubane, has denied to the Zondo commission that a statement he issued regarding the dismissal of Zola Tsotsi was the same as that sent by the Gupta’s ally, Nazeem Howa.
Ngubane succeeded Tsotsi at Eskom, but was also on the board that commissioned Tsotsi, among others, to appoint Nicholas Linell as a consultant.
He previously said that Tsotsi’s claims that his board was a Gupta board were “disgusting.”
Ngubane resigned as chairman of the Eskom board in 2017 when it emerged that his passport had been found among the Gupta leaks, and the travel arrangements date back to 2013.
He has admitted that at the time he planned to start a gas business with Gupta’s partner, Salim Essa, in the Central African Republic, but failed when South African soldiers deployed there were killed.
He denied that his trips to Dubai were related to the Guptas; instead, he said he used Emirates Airlines to travel to Europe and that Dubai was just a transit stop.
Ngubane has also denied knowledge that the statement announcing his predecessor’s departure was made by the Guptas.
Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo asked him if he had ever seen the statement prior to his appearance in commission on Friday.
“No president. I had asked investigators to get me this statement, but when we met again, they did not give me the statement. They said it was out, ”Ngubane replied.
The commission sent him an email with the statement, but Ngubane maintains that his statement came from Eskom’s communications.
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