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South Africa’s foreign minister wants new rules and “more transparency” to apply to former heads of state undertaking foreign trips.
The recommendation to parliament follows a controversial visit to India last month by ex-President Jacob Zuma where he met one of the businessmen allegedly at the heart of a huge corruption scandal that played a role in bringing down his government.
The uproar over his meeting with Ajay Gupta prompted one minister to say that Zuma was showing the “middle finger” to South Africa.
Around a decade ago, the Gupta brothers were accused of profiting from their close links to then-President Zuma and influencing South African policy. Both parties denied wrongdoing.
The Gupta family left South Africa in 2018 after a judicial commission began investigating allegations they were involved in massive fraud, known as “state capture”.
In 2022, the commission concluded that Zuma had hired and fired ministers central to the running of the country’s economy at the behest of the Gupta family.
The South African authorities ended up cancelling their arrest warrant for Ajay Gupta. The two younger Gupta brothers, Atul and Rajesh, went to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where a court in 2023 turned down a South African request to extradite them
Zuma has since been expelled from the African National Congress (ANC), the party he once led, and now heads the opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK).
During Zuma’s visit to India, a photograph of the 84-year-old South African politician and Ajay Gupta was taken at an Indian temple.
South Africa’s high commissioner to India, Anil Sooklal, was also pictured with the duo and he has since been recalled. The diplomat has denied any wrongdoing.
Foreign Affairs Minister Ronald Lamola said that his department had submitted a recommendation to parliament and the president’s office for new protocols for former heads of state during foreign trips.
They would have to “provide full details” on the upcoming trip for “an informed assessment of the appropriate level of support required and any associated reputational, political, diplomatic or security risks”, he said at a briefing on Wednesday.
This is not the first time Zuma’s foreign visits have caused controversy.
Last year, he visited Morocco and spoke in support of the North African nation’s claim over the disputed territory of Western Sahara – something South Africa opposes.
Zuma undertook the trip as MK leader but was pictured in front of the South African flag when he met Morocco’s foreign minister and brought up Western Sahara.
South Africa condemned the visit and raised a formal diplomatic protest about it with Morocco.
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