South Africa probes Zuma-Gupta meeting, denies Nigeria claim

The South African government has launched an investigation and issued a sharp rebuke after former President Jacob Zuma met with fugitive businessman Ajay Gupta in India, an encounter attended by the country’s top diplomat there. Simultaneously, Pretoria has firmly rejected a Nigerian proposal to compensate citizens who abandoned property while fleeing recent xenophobic attacks, a stance defended forcefully by a senior minister.

The controversy surrounding Zuma stems from a private visit to India where he was photographed addressing journalists alongside Ajay Gupta at a temple in Haridwar. The Gupta brothers are central figures in South Africa’s long-running state capture scandal and fled to Dubai in 2018; Interpol issued a Red Notice for them in 2021. The presence of South Africa’s High Commissioner to India, Anil Sooklal, at the event has drawn intense scrutiny from the government.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said Zuma’s actions undermined the country’s criminal justice system and foreign policy, expressing concern that such engagements compromise efforts to secure mutual legal assistance to return fugitives. International Relations and Cooperation Minister...