The South African government harshly criticised ex-president Jacob Zuma Friday for meeting in India with one of the Gupta brothers accused of siphoning off millions of dollars worth of state assets.
In a video shared on social media after last month’s meeting, 84-year-old Zuma also suggested he would stand for re-election after being forced out of office in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations.
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,” cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said.
Zuma “continues to show a middle finger and claim that he wants to run this country again”, she said at a media briefing.
The government has launched an inquiry into the visit, with Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola accusing Zuma of running a “parallel foreign policy”.
