This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
On July 15, 2019, former South African President Jacob Zuma began his testimony at the Commission of Inquiry on State Capture, sparking a heated exchange with the African National Congress (ANC) bigwigs.
Mr. Zuma, who resigned from the presidency in 2018, claimed that there had been a coordinated plan by ANC spies to bring him down since the Apartheid era.
He alleged that former Justice Minister Penuell Maduna asked a South African businessman, Mzi Khumalo, for R20 million (approximately Sh144 million) to entice him to retire from politics.
Mr. Maduna swiftly denied the allegations, calling them a 'blatant lie.'
Former Mineral Resources Minister Ngoako Ramatlhodi also dismissed Mr. Zuma's claims, accusing him of 'auctioning the country' to the Gupta family.
Mr. Zuma named several individuals, including influential businessman Johann Rupert, as being part of the conspiracy against him.
He claimed that Mr. Rupert threatened to 'shut down the country' if President Zuma fired Pravin Gordhan as Finance Minister in 2017.
Mr. Zuma also narrated how he survived a poisoning attempt and how killers were flown in from overseas in a plot to assassinate him in Durban.
