A South African minister has stated that former President Jacob Zuma is "showing the middle finger" to the country following reports of his meeting with Ajay Gupta, one of the Indian businessmen at the center of a decade-old corruption scandal.
A photograph circulating in Indian media showed Zuma and Ajay Gupta together at a temple in India. The Gupta brothers were accused of leveraging their close relationship with Zuma during his presidency to influence government policy and enrich themselves. Both the Gupta family and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing.
In 2018, the Gupta family left South Africa as a judicial commission began investigating allegations of widespread fraud, known as "state capture." South African authorities later withdrew an arrest warrant for Ajay Gupta. His brothers, Atul and Rajesh Gupta, reside in the United Arab Emirates, where a court in 2023 rejected a South African request for their extradition.
At a press briefing on Friday, cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni expressed dismay at the meeting. "It is very disturbing that a former state president openly and unapologetically shows the middle finger to South Africans who have lost a lot of money through the Gupta brothers' shenanigans," she said.
Zuma, a former member of the African National Congress (ANC), was removed from office in 2018 amidst numerous corruption allegations, which he has consistently denied. After the meeting with Ajay Gupta, Zuma, who now leads the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, reportedly indicated his intention to run for re-election in South Africa's upcoming elections.
Ntshavheni also commented on Zuma's potential candidacy, stating that the 84-year-old "continues to show a middle finger and claim that he wants to run this country again." She further described the presence of South Africa's High Commissioner to India, Anil Sooklal, at the meeting as a "disgrace."
Minister of international relations Ronald Lamola announced that South Africa would initiate an investigation into the meeting, suggesting that Zuma appeared to be conducting "a parallel foreign policy."