Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni.
Supplied/GCIS
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni held a press briefing on Friday,where she expressed the government’s position on several issues.One of them was South African High Commissioner to India Anil Sooklal’s eyebrow-raising appearance next to former president Jacob Zuma during his visit to Ajay Gupta.She described the act as a disgrace and said he was showing South Africa the “middle finger”.South African High Commissioner to India Anil Sooklal’s visit to the fugitive Gupta family in India,along with former president Jacob Zuma,is a “disgrace” and a “middle finger” to South Africans,Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has said.
Sooklal angered South Africa when he appeared alongside Zuma and his close confidante,Mzwanele Manyi,at a press briefing following their visit to corruption-accused fugitive Ajay Gupta.
After Zuma’s departure from the Union Buildings in 2018,the Guptas became fugitives for avoiding prosecution for their allegedly central role in state capture during Zuma’s tenure as the president.
Ajay and his brothers are accused of looting billions of rands from the state through kickbacks and undue influence over government contracts.
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While a 2018 arrest warrant for Ajay was reportedly cancelled in 2019,authorities have since declared him a fugitive and he remains wanted.
READ | Zuma visits Ajay Gupta in India,accompanied by top SA diplomat
The United Arab Emirates rejected a request for the extradition of the Gupta brothers in February 2023 so that they could stand trial for fraud and money laundering in connection with what has become known as the Nulane scam.
Although authorities never sought to extradite Ajay,he is considered the architect of the family’s stranglehold on the state during Zuma’s presidency.
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At question time during Ntshavheni’s post-Cabinet briefing on Friday,she was asked about Sooklal’s conduct.
She responded:
You will recall that South Africa has applied for mutual assistance to bring back the fugitive Gupta brothers back into the country.
“Therefore,it’s [another] level of disgrace that our own employee,the representative of the government of South Africa,hobnobs with the criminals instead of doing his work and making sure that the fugitives are brought to book.”
Ntshavheni said Sooklal was showing the “middle finger to South Africans,who are paying his salary”,instead of performing his duties.
READ | Lamola demands answers after diplomat is pictured with Zuma and Gupta in India
She said International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola requested a report from the official and warned that “drastic steps” would be taken.
Ntshavheni said: “We also are very clear: The messaging is very wrong,both from ambassador Sooklal and [Zuma]. This is not the first incident where this [former] state president has undermined the foreign policy of this country and also the laws of the country when he’s supported by the country.”
In August last year,Pretoria voiced its strong objection to and deep concern about Zuma’s bilateral meeting with Morocco’s foreign affairs minister,Nasser Bourita.
The Presidency,Ntshavheni said,did not have the diaries of former presidents,even though the state funded their trips. She said the government was reviewing the policy on the funding of ex-presidents’ trips.
Meanwhile,DA MP Ryan Smith said the only problem with Ntshavheni’s statements was that it had been confirmed to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation earlier on Friday that Sooklal “received written instructions from Dirco (Department of International Relations and Cooperation) to do so”.
Smith said: “Between High Commissioner Sooklal and Dirco,who is lying to the people of South Africa?
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“If indeed High Commissioner Sooklal received instructions from Dirco to formally receive Jacob Zuma and corruption-accused Ajay Gupta in India,heads must roll.”
He called on Lamola to urgently launch a departmental inquiry into this “grave violation of diplomatic protocol”.
Smith said:
This demonstrates the seeming political capture of South Africa’s foreign service or departmental officials who continue to aid and abet state capture beyond South Africa’s borders.
“South Africa needs to know whether Minister Lamola and his department knew about this visit and gave instructions to prepare for it,or whether the high commissioner himself violated his mandate by doing so.”
Smith said he would be submitting an additional batch of written questions to Lamola to get to the bottom of the matter.
“Minister Lamola cannot preside over a department that remains loyal to a corrupt former president and his allies,and if he himself is implicated,President (Cyril) Ramaphosa must fire him from his post,” Smith said.
Speaking on behalf of Lamola,his spokesperson,Crispin Phiri said: “The position from the Ministers office remains: Minister Lamola has ordered an internal probe on the matter.”
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comment from the DA and Dirco.
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