There is enough evidence to charge newly elected ANC leader Jacob Zuma with corruption, the head of South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority said yesterday.
"We have enough of a case to bring to court," acting director of public prosecutions Mokotedi Mpshe told private 702 Talk Radio.
Asked whether charges would be filed soon, Mpshe replied: "Yes, that's my impression."
PHOTO: AP
Zuma was elected head of the ruling African National Congress on Tuesday night, defeating his arch rival South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Zuma's financial advisor is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence after he was found guilty of soliciting bribes on behalf of the new ANC leader.
Initial corruption charges against Zuma were dropped last September when a judge threw them out of court after it emerged the state did not have enough evidence to charge Zuma.
Mpshe told 702 he realized Zuma's supporters would view his announcement as part of a "conspiracy" they claim is being waged against him.
New ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa told the radio station the cloud hanging over Zuma's head was "a cloud manipulated by the Scorpions" police unit, which he referred to as a "hit squad."
ANC members decided on Wednesday night that the elite-crime fighting arm of the NPA should be disbanded.
Mpshe however denied that the ruling party had the authority to scrap the unit, saying "the Scorpions is not a branch of the ANC."
Phosa, a Zuma ally, criticized Mphse for speaking out on the case.
Airlines in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore yesterday canceled flights to and from the Indonesian island of Bali, after a nearby volcano catapulted an ash tower into the sky. Australia’s Jetstar, Qantas and Virgin Australia all grounded flights after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores island spewed a 9km tower a day earlier. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, India’s IndiGo and Singapore’s Scoot also listed flights as canceled. “Volcanic ash poses a significant threat to safe operations of the aircraft in the vicinity of volcanic clouds,” AirAsia said as it announced several cancelations. Multiple eruptions from the 1,703m twin-peaked volcano in
A plane bringing Israeli soccer supporters home from Amsterdam landed at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday after a night of violence that Israeli and Dutch officials condemned as “anti-Semitic.” Dutch police said 62 arrests were made in connection with the violence, which erupted after a UEFA Europa League soccer tie between Amsterdam club Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Israeli flag carrier El Al said it was sending six planes to the Netherlands to bring the fans home, after the first flight carrying evacuees landed on Friday afternoon, the Israeli Airports Authority said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also ordered
Former US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said if US President Joe Biden had ended his re-election bid sooner, the Democratic Party could have held a competitive nominating process to choose his replacement. “Had the president gotten out sooner, there may have been other candidates in the race,” Pelosi said in an interview on Thursday published by the New York Times the next day. “The anticipation was that, if the president were to step aside, that there would be an open primary,” she said. Pelosi said she thought the Democratic candidate, US Vice President Kamala Harris, “would have done
Farmer Liu Bingyong used to make a tidy profit selling milk but is now leaking cash — hit by a dairy sector crisis that embodies several of China’s economic woes. Milk is not a traditional mainstay of Chinese diets, but the Chinese government has long pushed people to drink more, citing its health benefits. The country has expanded its dairy production capacity and imported vast numbers of cattle in recent years as Beijing pursues food self-sufficiency. However, chronically low consumption has left the market sloshing with unwanted milk — driving down prices and pushing farmers to the brink — while
RSS