Gupta Guy? Not Me!

A case of mistaken identity is starting to get to Pretoria attorney Gert van der Merwe.

- Gabisile Ngcobo

HEAR the name Gert van der Merwe and one person is likely to come to mind: the Guptas’ lawyer.

The guy who’s quoted in the media every now and then defending the country’s most controversial family. The guy who initially dismissed the tranche of leaked emails detailing the family’s capture of the state as fake news. And the guy linked to a R16 million tender and money-laundering scandal involving former Limpopo health MEC Miriam Segabutla in 2013.

There’s a lot going on in Gert van der Merwe’s life right now – so spare a thought for the man sitting across the desk from us. His name: Gert van der Merwe. His profession: attorney at law. His main occupation right now: telling people he isn’t the guy working for the Guptas.

The 36-year-old digs his iPhone out of his pocket and scrolls down to a text message he received just that morning.

“This client said to me, ‘Gert, are you the guy with the Guptas?’”

It all started about three years ago, says Gert, a former Lions rugby player who specialises in sport law and has an office a stone’s throw from Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria. He represented former Blue Bulls player Bees Roux in 2011 when he was charged with culpable homicide and drunk driving after a police officer was killed and has dealt with some the team’s cases.