Vytjie Mentor, a retired member of parliament and one of the State Capture spectators who kept South Africa glued to the Zondo Commission, has died at the age of 58. Let’s look at how she died and Vytjie Mentor’s cause of death in detail
How did Vytjie Mentor die?
Herman Mashaba, the leader of Action SA, stated in a statement that Mentor had a chronic ailment and had been hospitalized just days before she passed away.
Mashaba stated that her relatives had phoned the party on Tuesday to confirm the details of the cause of her death.
This morning (Tuesday, August 23, 2022), Vytjie [Mentorfamily ]’s contacted us to let us know that she had passed away from her sickness after being hospitalized for several months, Mashaba wrote.
The full degree of her health is still unknown, and the Mentor family has not yet stated more details on the condition that claimed the life of a significant player in the anti-corruption movement.
Vytjie Mentor’s cause of death
The former MP served as ActionSA’s provincial chairperson in the Western Cape, and talking about her ill health with Weekend Argus in June 2022, she revealed that issues that occurred after her bariatric surgery forced her to take leave from work.
“I had a bariatric surgery to lose weight because of my injury in my leg I gained a lot of weight, but due to the hard lockdown I could not do follow-up medical inspections on the initial procedure.
“Afterwards, I found that there was a little bit of candidiasis which grew over time and spread throughout the entire system,” she revealed at the time,
What happened to Vytjie Mentor?
The CDC describes candidiasis as “a fungal infection brought on by a yeast (a type of fungus) called Candida.”
The fungus infection can be treated, but if it goes untreated for a long period, it can be fatal.
It has not yet been determined whether Mentor’s death was caused by complications from candidiasis.
Martha Nkosi, Mentor’s sister, and Mentor’s son, 27, are her surviving family members.
Vytjie Mentor weightloss journey
She stated: “I underwent bariatric surgery to lose weight because I had gained a lot of weight owing to my leg injury,
I was unable to undergo follow-up medical inspections on the original procedure because of the strict lockdown.
After that, she discovered a small amount of candidiasis, which developed over time and spread throughout her entire body.
The yeast (or fungus) called Candida is the source of the infection known as candidiasis.
“When they perform the procedure, they pull out your insides and perform it outside rather than performing an invasive surgery internally.
Infection risk is therefore very high.
As the issue spread throughout the system, I was getting progressively worse, she added.
Mentor added that, as provincial chair, the party had decided that, to run in the 2024 presidential elections, it would need to create more ward-based branches.
“That requires a great deal of travel, observation, and physical groundwork, so given my precarious circumstances, I’m unable to accomplish that.
I thus said let me stand aside because I don’t want to be unjust to myself and the party.
Someone who can perform the physical task should be chosen, she advised.
When she claimed that former president Jacob Zuma had made unwanted sexual overtures toward her while he was still vice president, Mentor previously made the news.
When she was a younger ANC member in the early 1990s and when she was the ANC caucus chair in the middle of the 2000s, she twice turned down his advances.
When Mentor exposed alleged corruption, she also garnered media attention.
She asserted that the Gupta family had extended an offer to her for the position of minister of public enterprises.
Both health and professional life were erratic.
Mentor spoke about this during his testimony before the State Capture Commission, but the fifth and final report of the investigation stated that the claims were unsubstantiated.
She still has fear, the politician admitted to Weekend Argus.
“Being a whistle-blower has a lot of obligations. Numerous attempts have been made in my life.
They attempted to end my life four times, she claimed.
She reportedly paid a lot of money to ensure her safety, according to Mentor.
“I had to enhance the security at my home regularly for a very long period,” she said.
She continued to have nightmares, according to Mentor.
“I had a job that required me to go to Johannesburg. I had to go to the first court appearance for Babita Deokaran’s killers.
Deokaran, a whistleblower against corruption, was killed in August while she was driving back home from dropping her daughter off at school.
“The night before I had to go on my trip, I had a dream that the people who killed Babita shot me as I was driving to the airport after I left the court.
“When I woke up, I was drenched from that dream because it felt so genuine.
My pajamas were soaked in perspiration.
I was experiencing palpitations and a rapid heartbeat that would not slow down after drinking a lot of water.
“I canceled the vacation because and i was unable to go. Also I occasionally get flashbacks of the attempts on my life that occurred after I revealed corruption, she claimed.
The mentor stated that she needed to see a psychologist.
The mentor predicted that she would sound the whistle once more. Right now, she is battling back for her health.
“I’m not close to death. I’m only focusing on my well-being and myself.
By 2024, I want to be in my finest shape possible, she declared.
Who was Vytjie Mentor?
Vytjie Mentor, also known as Mabel Patronella Mentor, was a South African politician who served in the National Assembly from 2002 to 2014. She died on August 23, 2022.
She was an African National Congress representative who presided over the party’s caucus from 2004 until 2008.
From 2009 to 2010, she served as the portfolio committee on public enterprises’ chair.
One of the first to break with the ANC and call attention to state capture is credited to her.
On October 19, 1963, in the former Cape Province of South Africa, Mabel Patronella Mentor was born.
She graduated from Taung’s Batlhaping High School.
She completed her education at the University of the Witwatersrand, East Rand College, and Hebron Theological College. Mentor pursued his education via UNISA.
Political career
Mentor had been a devoted African National Congress supporter for many years.
She was elected to her first full term in 2004 after being sworn in as an MP in 2002.
Also, she was chosen to succeed Joyce Kgoali as party caucus chair after the election.
She maintained the role until Ncumisa Chwayita Kondlo was named as her replacement in 2008.
2009 saw the reelection of Mentor.
Mentor was subsequently chosen by the ANC to lead the Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises.
In 2010, she traveled to China with President Jacob Zuma as part of a state visit. There was debate regarding this.
Transnet had funded her travel, according to an investigation by the ANC.
After it was discovered that she had inappropriately requested sponsorship, she was later removed from her position as the committee’s chair. Before the 2014 general election, Mentor left the House of Commons.
Quit her career after a health issue
In March 2019, Mentor joined the African Christian Democratic Party after leaving the ANC.
Herman Mashaba revealed in July 2020 that Mentor had joined actions, his new political party.
In October 2020, Mentor was named the Western Cape’s provincial party chairperson.
Mentor left his position as the party’s provincial chairperson on June 12, 2022, citing health concerns.
She will take on a new role inside the organization, according to the party.
Mentor said that her weight loss journey was the root of her health issues.
She underwent bariatric surgery to help her lose weight, but she gained it back after breaking her leg. Later on, she was found to have candidiasis.
She passed away on August 23, 2022, according to a notification from her family. Prolonged illness after her bariatric surgery was Vytjie Mentor’s cause of death.
Tributes to Vytjie Mentor
Former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor, who shot into the political spotlight as a state capture whistleblower, has died. | @ZintleMahlati
58 years of her life and she’s only known for being a whistleblower. Life can be cruel.
BREAKING NEWS LIVE | State capture whistleblower and former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor has died news24.com/news24/southaf via @news24 #SouthAfrica
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Lavanya (Senior Editor) is a full-time content writer with almost 5 years of experience and a part-time teacher. She joined Medico Topics on the Breaking News trainee scheme in 2022 and now works on MedicoTopics.com. As a lifelong learner, She is constantly curious about learning new things and passionate about sharing knowledge with people through her writing and teaching.