Manyi reacts to Zondo calling for Zuma corruption investigation: 'All he can do is cast aspersions'

Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi has hit back at acting chief justice Raymond Zondo's recommendation that former president Zuma be investigated for alleged corruption.

Zondo handed over the second part of his state capture inquiry report to President Cyril Ramaphosa this week.

The report recommended Zuma be investigated for alleged corruption and racketeering for his alleged role as a willing enabler of the looting of Transnet.

Taking to Twitter, Manyi said Zondo had nothing on the former president.

“The state capture commission was set up primarily to investigate allegations that [former] president Zuma was captured,” said Manyi.

“Four years and R1bn later, Zondo is still recommending that [former] president Zuma must be investigated. This means Zondo has nothing on him. All he can do is cast aspersions.”

The inquiry sat for more than three years and heard testimony on how the country’s public institutions were infiltrated and looted during Zuma’s tenure as head of state.

The report found that Zuma had a hand in derailing Transnet, despite denying this in his testimony.

The looting, according to the report, resulted in more than R41.2bn being irregularly awarded to benefit Gupta-linked companies.

Zuma, the commission found, insisted on appointing “preferred candidate” Siyabonga Gama as Transnet CEO instead of Sipho Maseko.

The report says Zuma wanted Gama at the helm despite him facing serious allegations of misconduct relating to tenders.

Zondo recommended that law enforcement agencies investigate Zuma with a view to possible prosecute him for corruption and racketeering over his insistence that Gama be reinstated.

“It is recommended that the law enforcement agencies conduct such further investigations as may be necessary, with a view to the possible prosecution on a charge of corruption in terms of chapter 2 of POCA [Prevention of Organised Crime Act], to determine whether the reinstatement of Mr Gama as CEO of TFR at the insistence of Mr Zuma, Mr [Malusi] Gigaba and [former Transnet board chairperson Mafika] Mkhwanazi constituted an improper inducement to Mr Gama to do anything, thus amounting to corruption,” said the report.