Former South African President Jacob Zuma looks on as he attends his trial for alledged corruption in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, on May 23, 2019. – Zuma, 77, is accused of taking bribes from French defence company Thales during his time as a provincial economy minister and later as deputy president of the African National Congress (ANC) in the 1990s. (Photo by Themba Hadebe / POOL / AFP)
Former South African President Jacob Zuma looks on as he attends his trial for alledged corruption in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, on May 23, 2019. – Zuma, 77, is accused of taking bribes from French defence company Thales during his time as a provincial economy minister and later as deputy president of the African National Congress (ANC) in the 1990s. (Photo by Themba Hadebe / POOL / AFP)
It’s not been a very good week at the state capture inquiry. Not if your name is Jacob Zuma, anyway. Both the former NPA Director Mxolisis Nxasana and the South African Airways (SAA) ex-Group Treasurer Cynthia Stimpel have both made reference to the former president’s undue influence over certain state institutions.
This follows previous high-profile implications for the 77-year-old, the most infamous of which suggested he had received R300 000 in bribe payments from Bosasa CEO Gavin Watson. Zuma is also awaiting judgement on whether his ongoing corruption case will make it to trial.
The heat is getting pretty intense on the man who ruled South Africa for nine years. If anyone could benefit from a change of identity, it’s him: But even his latest nickname has some dire implications.
During Stimpel’s testimony on Thursday, she explained that Jacob Zuma had a hand in several billion-rand procurement deals. She revealed that he and Myeni were ultimately responsible for most of these mega-exchanges, which included approving of a R15 billion loan for SAA back in 2015.
[ICYMI] #StateCaptureInquiry According to SAA whistleblower and former Group Treasurer, Cythia Stimpel, the 2015 CFO Wolf Meyer recorded a meeting with a potential funder during which he was reportedly told then President Jacob Zuma wanted client Jayendra Naidoo to get the deal.
— Erin Bates (@ermbates) June 13, 2019
According to the witness, she was told that “Number One” – a reference to Jacob Zuma – wanted a particular client to seal the deal and the admission has since raised eyebrows across Mzansi. As well as the damning incrimination, it also gave Zuma another moniker to add to the list.
As one of the most-discussed figures in South Africa’s political discourse, Jacob Zuma was always likely to end up with a few nicknames. None of them are quite as embarrassing as “cupcake” for Cyril Ramaphosa, but “Number One” now means there’s something else he can stick on the bill…