Guptas’ notorious plane chartered by the military and returned to Waterkloof

The Guptas’ use of Air Force Base Waterkloof is not just linked to the family’s international wedding furore.

Leaked e-mails show that the brothers’ aircraft‚ ZS-OAK‚ has been chartered by the South African National Defence Force since the wedding in 2013 and has been allowed to land at the air force base.

In 2013‚ President Jacob Zuma was linked to the scandal when it emerged that as “No 1” he had given permission for the family to land a chartered plane.

Two years later‚ according to these documents‚ ZS-OAK was back on the base‚ this time on official charter business for the military, according to the South African National Defence Force.

E-mails directed to Ashu Chawla‚ CE of Sahara Computers‚ show the aircraft’s movements on November 8 2015.

Department of Defence spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said on Thursday that there had been nothing untoward.

The defence force could confirm that ZS-OAK “landed and took off from Air Force Base Waterkloof. This was to ferry invited military and civilian dignitaries to the South African Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla‚ Northern Cape.

“It is standard aircraft charter procedure for the department to forward a request for an aircraft charter through the Treasury-approved contract processes.”

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