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By Loyiso Sidimba 
10h ago
JOHANNESBURG – Former SA Airways board member Yakhe Kwinana on Saturday denied doing business with the late lawyer Mbuleli Kolisi, who died in July before testifying at the commission of inquiry into the state capture.
Kwinana, a chartered accountant who previously served as SAA’s technical president (SAAT), told the commission that Kolisi had been hired to lead the disciplinary hearing of former SAA executive Dr. Masimba Dahwa.
“I never signed a single contract that involved Kolisi,” he said.
On Tuesday, Kwinana revealed that she facilitated a loan of R819,000 for a fellow congregation through a company that was a technical provider for SAA.
Kwinana admitted to facilitating the loan of R819,000 from BMK Attorneys, a Kolisi-owned law firm, hired by the state-owned company that he ran for a fellow congregation after the same entity awarded him a tender.
Test leader Kate Hofmeyr accused Kwinana of being a dishonest witness after failing to present financial statements detailing her business relationship with JM Aviation Vuyo Ndzeku.
Kwinana claimed that she did not submit the statements to the commission because she did not have the full set of documents when Hofmeyr asked her.
“That cannot be true,” said the commission’s chairman, Supreme Court Vice President Raymond Zondo.
Kwinana said that this was an omission on his part.
She also defended her business relationship with Ndzeku, saying it only started after she left SAAT.
According to Hofmeyr, Kwinana’s business relationship with Ndzeku was designed to influence her during her tenure at SAAT and that there was evidence that it could have been a smart plan.
“Even before he resigned, there would be nothing wrong with receiving money from JM Aviation,” Kwinana said, insisting that the R4.2 million he received from Ndzeku and his wife were part of legitimate business transactions.
Earlier this week, Kwinana denied soliciting a bribe from Ndzeku’s business partner, AAR Corporation, which was in line to win a R1.2 billion contract to supply SAAT with aircraft components.
The commission resumes on Monday.
MESS
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