'Man Duduzane Zuma introduced was not Fana Hlongwane' - Vytjie Mentor apologises

Vytjie Mentor has allegedly apologised to Fana Hlongwane whom she implicated in her testimony at the commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture in August when she appeared.

She had claimed that former president Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane, introduced her to Hlongwane on a flight to Dubai but after the testimony she realised that the man identified as chairman by Duduzane was not Hlongwane.

Mentor's lawyer’s letter, dated 14 November 2018, and addressed Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, which SowetanLIVE has seen, revealed that Mentor erred in saying the man she met on the flight was not Hlongwane.

In the letter, Mentor apologises to both the commission and Hlongwane for the mistake.

“After our client’s appearance before the Commission she decided to view images of Mr Fana Hlongwane on the internet. After reflection on those images she has come to realise that they are not of the person she was introduced to by Mr Duduzane Zuma on the Emirates flight as “Chairman”,” the letter from law firm Webber Wentzel reads.

“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 hereby gives, a sincere apology to Mr Fana Hlongwane for any embarrassment and/or adverse imputation which the mistake may have caused.”

Mentor’s apology comes a day after her testimony was postponed to November 30 2018.Yesterday, Mentor referred Sowetan to her lawyers Webber Wentzel.

Mentor, however, maintains that Zuma junior introduced him to a “black man by Duduzane Zuma, who referred to him as “Chairman”, in her letter.

Hlongwane had applied to cross-examine Mentor on her testimony about meeting him.

The Commission and Hlongwane had not responded to SowetanLIVE’s questions on what will happen to both Mentor’s evidence and Hlongwane’s application for cross examination.