A report found that scandals and a systemic process of ridding key personnel from important government departments and lucrative state-owned enterprises, then replacing them with close allies and pliant officials were hallmarks of Jacob Zuma’s nine-year term as president of South Africa. Judge Raymond Zondo found in his 874-page report into the allegations of high-level corruption under Zuma that the former president advanced the interests of the Indian-born Gupta family and close allies at the expense of the people of South Africa. Both the Zuma and the Gupta family have previously denied any wrongdoing.
The inquiry found there were patterns of abuse at every stage of public procurement and that governance had collapsed at state companies. The process, referred to as “state capture,” describes a form of corruption in which businesses and politicians conspire to influence a country’s decision-making process to advance their own interests.
