Mentor faces R5m lawsuit over Gupta crook remark

Former MP Vytjie Mentor is facing a R5m defamation lawsuit by a Pakistani businessman she labelled a ‘crook that entered our country illegally and operates just like the Guptas’. A Times Select report says Imran Butt – through his lawyers at BDK Attorneys – has demanded that Mentor stop her social media onslaught against him, where she alleges, among other things, that he is in the country illegally and sells SA citizenships to other illegal immigrants. However, Mentor responded that Butt and his lawyers should ‘go and jump’. ‘They think they can intimidate me. They belong in hell. We can meet in court. I am running a campaign to save our country from crooks like him.’ On 2 March Mentor fired her first salvo with a Facebook post and images of Butt’s Instagram account, claiming that he was receiving protection from high-profile ANC politicians. The images include photographs of Butt posing with several government Ministers – including Malusi Gigaba and Bheki Cele – at the ANC’s December 2017 elective conference. ‘Your actions constitute harassment of our client … Your conduct conforms with the definition of defamation … and falls within the definition of crimen injuria …’ the lawyer’s letter reads. Mentor said last week that she began following Butt while preparing for the state capture inquiry and her investigation into Gigaba and his wife. However, Butt responded it was not a crime to associate with people and take photographs with them.