Jurie Hendrik Wynand Mentz is a South African politician who served in Parliament until 1999.
[1] During apartheid, he represented the NP in the House of Assembly, serving the Vryheid constituency in northern Natal province.
On 28 January 1993,[2] he announced his defection from the NP to the IFP, which he subsequently campaigned for ahead of the 1994 general election.
[4][1] He told the Los Angeles Times that he had defected after visiting Eastern Europe and seeing the effect of communist policies on "the people and the economy".
[5] He said:We can't afford this experiment... People are starting to realize they must make a choice, and the black leader acceptable to them is [IFP leader] Mangosuthu Buthelezi.