The National Assembly’s Home Affairs Committee will begin quizzing key role-players in the Gupta naturalisation saga next week. Individuals called to testify include Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, and the department’s former DG, Mkuseli Apleni, who recently resigned to take up a post in the private sector, says a BusinessLIVE report.

‘The committee has concluded the initial phase of the inquiry … collection of all relevant information … and has identified gaps which need to be clarified by certain people to assist the committee to arrive at a conclusion. The investigation will be held from Wednesday to Friday next week,’ committee chair Hlomani Chauke said. The committee agreed earlier in 2018 to institute a full-scale inquiry into the matter.

In March, Apleni said that of the five Guptas who had applied for naturalisation‚ four were naturalised after they fulfilled the requirement to renounce their Indian citizenship, given that India does not allow dual citizenship. The exception is Ajay, who ‘only holds a permanent residence permit’. This contradicted the version presented by Gigaba’s predecessor, Hlengiwe Mkhize‚ who previously stated that two Gupta brothers‚ Atul and Ajay‚ were granted citizenship based on their business investments and social partnerships.

Earlier in the year, DA MP Haniff Hoosen presented documents to other members of the committee that suggested more than five members of the Gupta family had been naturalised, which contradicted statements by the department.

Full BusinessLIVE report