Mabel Patronella Mentor (19 October 1963 – 23 August 2022), known as Vytjie Mentor, was a South African politician, who served as a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

from 2002 until 2014. She represented the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

and served as the party's caucus chairperson between 2004 and 2008. She was chairperson of the portfolio committee on public enterprises from 2009 to 2010. She is credited to be one of the first people to break ranks with the ANC and raise the alarm on state capture.

Early life and education

Mabel Patronella Mentor was born on 19 October 1963 in the former

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

of South Africa. She matriculated from Batlhaping High School in

Taung Taung is a small town situated in the North West Province of South Africa. The name means ''place of the lion'' and was named after Tau, the King of the Barolong. ''Tau'' is the Tswana word for lion. Education High,Secondary and Middle Schools ...

. She studied at Hebron Theological College, East Rand College, and the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

. Mentor also studied through

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

Parliamentary career

Mentor was a long-standing member of the

. She was sworn in as an MP in 2002 and was elected to her first full term in 2004. After the election, she was named as chairperson of the party's caucus, succeeding

Joyce Kgoali Joyce Leswana Kgoali (13 January 1950 – 21 November 2004) was a South African politician. A member of the African National Congress, she served as the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces from May 2004 until her death in November 2 ...

. She held the position until 2008, when

Ncumisa Chwayita Kondlo Ncumisa Chwayita Kondlo (27 March 1958 – 24 March 2008) was a South African politician and activist. She was member of the African National Congress and deputy chairperson and a member of the Central Committee of the South African Communist Pa ...

was announced as her successor. Mentor was re-elected in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

. The ANC then designated her to be the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises. In 2010, she accompanied president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

on a state visit to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. This generated controversy. The ANC launched a probe and found that

Transnet Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. It was formed as a limited company on 1 April 1990. A majority of the company's stock is owned by the Departmen ...

had paid for her trip. She was later demoted as chairperson of the committee after it was found that she had improperly asked for sponsorship. Mentor left Parliament before the 2014 general election.

State capture allegations

In March 2016, Mentor claimed that in 2010 the

Gupta family The Gupta family is a wealthy Indian-born family with business interests in South Africa, whose most notable members are brothers Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh "Tony" Gupta—as well as Atul's nephews Varun, and US-based Ashish and Amol. The family ow ...

, on behalf of Zuma, offered her the position of

Minister of Public Enterprises The Minister of Public Enterprises is a minister in the cabinet of the national government of South Africa. He is appointed by the President of South Africa and is the political head of the Department of Public Enterprises, which was establishe ...

, if she could arrange that

South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier airline of South Africa. Founded in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and operated a hub-and-spoke network, serving ten destin ...

drop their Johannesburg to Mumbai route, so that

Jet Airways Jet Airways (India) Ltd is an Indian airline based in Delhi NCR, with a training and developmental center in Mumbai. Incorporated in April 1992 as a limited liability company, the airline began operations as an air taxi operator in 1993. It b ...

could acquire it. She said she declined the offer, which occurred at the Guptas' Saxonwold residence, while Zuma was in another room. The family denied that the meeting took place and Zuma said he had no recollection of Mentor. In August 2018, she testified at

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State, better known as the Zondo Commission or State Capture Commission, is a public inquiry established in Janu ...

. She was cross-examined in February 2019 after some parts of her testimony were found to be inconsistent. Mentor has defended her testimony. In June 2022, the current

Chief Justice of South Africa The Chief Justice of South Africa is the most senior judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court and head of the judiciary of South Africa, who exercises final authority over the functioning and management of all the c ...

and the former chairperson of the State Capture Commission,

Raymond Zondo Raymond Mnyamezeli Mlungisi "Ray" Zondo (born 4 May 1960) is a South African judge who is currently serving as Chief Justice of South Africa since 2022. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Zondo as South Africa's new chief justice with effect f ...

said that there were too many "unsatisfactory features" in Mentor's evidence and that the meeting at the Gupta's residence, in which she alleged that a member of the Gupta family offered her the position of Minister of Public Enterprises, did not happen.

Later career and death

Mentor resigned from the ANC in March 2019 and joined the

African Christian Democratic Party African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

. In July 2020,

Herman Mashaba Herman Samtseu Philip Mashaba (born August 26, 1959) is a South African politician, entrepreneur and the current president of ActionSA, a party he launched on 29 August 2020. He served as the Mayor of Johannesburg from 2016 to 2019. He is the fo ...

announced that Mentor had joined his new political party,

ActionSA ActionSA is a South African political party established by former mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, soon after he left the Democratic Alliance. The party states that it has been established to "set South Africa free from the restraints of ...

. Mentor was appointed the party's provincial chairperson in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

in October 2020. On 12 June 2022, Mentor resigned as the party's provincial chairperson due to health-related issues. The party said that she will assume a new position in the organisation. Mentor said that her ill-health was caused by her weight loss journey. She had

bariatric surgery Bariatric surgery (or weight loss surgery) includes a variety of procedures performed on people who are obese. Long term weight loss through the standard of care procedures ( Roux en-Y bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and biliopancreatic diversion ...

to lose weight but after she injured her leg, she gained weight again. She was later diagnosed with

candidiasis Candidiasis is a fungal infection due to any type of '' Candida'' (a type of yeast). When it affects the mouth, in some countries it is commonly called thrush. Signs and symptoms include white patches on the tongue or other areas of the mouth ...

. On 23 August 2022 her family reported that she had died after a long illness.

Publications

* Mentor, Vytjie (2017). ''No Holy Cows: Moments in My Political Life: 2002–2017''.

References

External links

Ms Mabel Patronella Mentor – People's Assembly

Chairpersons of ANC Caucus since 1994 – South African History Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mentor, Vytjie 1963 births 2022 deaths University of the Witwatersrand alumni African National Congress politicians African Christian Democratic Party politicians 21st-century South African politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa University of South Africa alumni ActionSA politicians