The house formerly owned by the Gupta family, located at 10 Dawnry Lane, Bel Ombre, in Cape Town, is currently being renovated by its new owner, who hails from the United Kingdom.
As reported by City Press via News24, the son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher stayed in the mansion and was later jailed for ‘his involvement in a failed coup in the Equatorial Guinea’.
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The Gupta family would later live in the mansion during their visits to Cape Town, only to flee the country after their ‘grand state capture plans’ were exposed.
Its current owner ‘does not care much’ about the mansion’s previous occupants, who have been described as ‘controversial’.
The property is located in one of Cape Town’s ‘most expensive residential areas’ and is considered one of the priciest properties in the Southern Suburbs.
The mansion was uninhabited for years and fell into disrepair after the Gupta assets were seized by the state.
Rapport recently visited the property, where Roxanne Walters, the new owner’s contractor, said there were ‘no plans to demolish the house’ as previously reported.
In the meantime, renovations had started, Walters confirmed. Walters said they hoped to finish the project ‘by next February’.
‘After the renovations, there will be eight bedrooms – seven upstairs and one downstairs. The rain is slightly delaying our plans, but we are working hard to meet the target,’ said Walters.
A worker on the property told the publication that when the Guptas left, the house was ‘fully furnished’, but by the time it was sold, ‘everything had been stolen’.
‘It was like a gold mine for the homeless people who discovered it. When we first came, there were still homeless people here. They stole everything they could – water pipes, taps, cameras, furniture, windows – everything. They broke down the small gate on the side of the property and entered the premises.’
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Picture: Ash Müller / X