South Africa: Zuma’s Son Faces Bribery Charges

News

The son of former South African president Jacob Zuma is to appear in the Specialized Commercial Crime Court in Johannesburg where he will be charged with corruption,the New York Times reported Sunday.

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Reported by

Katarina Sabados
July 9th, 2018
Bribery Justice System

Local media cited police sources as saying that Duduzane Zuma will be charged for the role he played in trying to bribe the former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas in October 2015, with the help of none other than the notorious Gupta family.

Police recovered CCTV footage that shows the younger Zuma, businessman Dana Hlongwane, and Ajay Gupta leaving the Hyatt Hotel in Johannesburg together before proceeding to a Gupta compound to meet Jonas.

Jonas later told the prosecution that at the meeting Gupta offered him R600 million (US$44.6million) and the position of finance minister to “work with them” but that he refused.

Both the elder Gupta and Duduzane Zuma will face charges, though Gupta remains at large. 

Duduzane Zuma was briefly detained last week at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International airport upon arriving from Dubai where he had been since his father’s February arrest. 

The younger Zuma was heading back to South Africa for the funeral of his brother and to appear in court on a separate charge of culpable homicide regarding a 2014 highway crash.

Duduzane Zuma was the business liaison between the Guptas and the Zuma family during Jacob Zuma’s leadership in the African National Congress (ANC) and as head of state. At one point, Duduzane Zuma was the director of 11 Gupta-owned businesses.

Since February, the ANC and the country’s anti-corruption body have been seizing Zuma family assets, and furthering the dozens of corruption cases against the Zuma family and their business associates. 

Duduzane Zuma confirmed that the meeting with Jonas took place, but denied the mention of a bribe.

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