The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has defended former South African (SA) President Jacob Zuma’s recent meeting with Ajay Gupta in India, insisting that Zuma is a private citizen who is free to travel and associate with whomever he pleases.
Zuma caused a political firestorm after he was photographed and filmed alongside Ajay Gupta at a temple in Haridwar, India, late last month, openly calling him his “brother and friend.” The Gupta family fled SA in 2018 amid extensive allegations of state capture and systemic corruption orchestrated during Zuma’s presidential tenure.
While the SA government has sharply condemned the encounter, with the Ministry of International Relations investigating the presence of South Africa’s High Commissioner at the temple, the MK Party maintains the trip was strictly personal.
MKP Secretary-General Sibonelo Nomvalo stated that the party has no involvement in the former Statesman’s private travels or religious engagements.
“The trip was a personal visit to his religious person, we’ve got nothing to do with that as a party. He went there to meet his religious leader. Who he met when he arrived there, that is his personal issue.”
–ChannelAfrica–
