Old children\u2019s dolls, copies of the defunct The New Age newspaper, shrines, murals on nearly every wall, throne-like furniture, marble finishes, and more bar counters than you can count on your fingers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are just some of the remnants scattered across the once-luxurious Gupta mansions in Johannesburg\u2019s elite Saxonwold suburb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On 24 July, the Gupta’s opulent homes, symbols of excess during South Africa\u2019s state capture era, will go under the hammer in a court-ordered auction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All items they left behind after their hasty exit from Johannesburg to Dubai, which are still in their houses, will also be auctioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than just prime real estate in the country’s richest city, these properties stand as stark symbols of the state capture that defined former President Jacob Zuma\u2019s tenure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The auction follows years of legal battles and a Supreme Court of Appeal ruling in favour of Park Village Auctions, which auctioneer Clive Lazarus calls \u201cthe beginning of the end\u201d of the drawn-out saga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Atul and Rajesh \u201cTony\u201d Gupta rose to prominence in the early 2000s, leveraging close ties to Zuma to amass a vast empire in mining, media, uranium, and technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Saxonwold mansions, dubbed the nerve centre of state capture, became infamous for hosting high-level political meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It during the Zondo Commission as symbols of the Gupta family\u2019s influence in the workings of government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mansions, which were visited by several ministers who served in former president Zuma\u2019s cabinet and CEOs of state-owned companies, featured prominently in the state capture commission report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, Former Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas claimed that he was offered a cabinet post at the Gupta’s Saxonwold residence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A public statement by former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe, who was suspected of being implicated in the Guptas\u2019 network, said that he had not visited their house. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When his visit to the area was proved by cellphone records and documented in a public protector\u2019s report on state capture, he admitted he had been in Saxonwold, but said he might have been visiting a local shebeen there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This marked the start of the colloquial term for the compound, the “Saxonwold Shebeen,” with more bars in these properties than rooms in most households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 2018, as investigations into the family’s activities intensified and the walls began closing in, the Guptas fled to Dubai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arrested there, they have since dodged South Africa\u2019s extradition efforts, with a 2023 request rejected over technical errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, their business network, including Oakbay Resources & Energy, crumbled under debt, triggering business rescue proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond their grandeur, some say that the auction represents a broader reckoning. Aligned with efforts to recover assets tied to corruption, the sale coincides with renewed attempts to extradite the Guptas to face state-capture charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n