Gareth Cliff Reacts After Jacob Zuma Is Named in Jeffrey Epstein Files: “We Always Assume the Worst”

• On Friday, 6 February 2026, Gareth Cliff weighed in on Jacob Zuma being mentioned in the Jeffrey Epstein files
• Cliff highlighted one shortcoming of the Epstein files, which were released by the United States Department of Justice
• Social media users reacted with mixed views, including jokes, criticism, and debate over Zuma’s presence in the Epstein emails

Renowned broadcaster Gareth Cliff has weighed in on former President Jacob Zuma, who was implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein files.

On Friday, 6 February 2026, The Gareth Cliff Show shared a snippet on its official Instagram account. In the snippet, Cliff said he wasn’t surprised that Zuma visited disgraced American businessman Jeffrey Epstein.

“Gedleyihlekisa Zuma. We knew he would be friends with Epstein. Come on, we knew it. We knew. We knew that Jacob Zuma, Sylvia Berlusconi, the former Prime Minister of Italy, president of Italy. He was the one who had the bunga bunga parties, remember? He and Zuma were also close friends,” Cliff said.

Read also

"We never saw anything": South Africa zeros in on Jeffreys Bay couple who worked on Epstein Island

Gareth Cliff questions Epstein files

The former Idols SA presenter, who previously weighed in on United States President Donald Trump's punishment against South Africa, highlighted one shortcoming of the Epstein files. He argued that the Epstein emails did not explicitly distinguish the child predators from those who went on the island for sex workers.

“We don't know who was into the underage girls, who was just into prostitutes. You know, I think when you operate at the level that so many of these people who were involved with Epstein, when you operate at that level, it's very hard for you to find a way of covertly doing what you want to do. So, we always assume the worst. We assume, well, all these people in the files were all on the island cavorting with like, hopelessly underage girls, and I don't know that that's true. We don't know who matches up where with what,” Cliff explained.

Read also

Cape Town woman implicated in Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking emails

Watch the full snippet by clicking here.

SA reacts after Gareth Cliff weighs in on the Epstein files

In the comments, social media users weighed in with mixed reactions. While others shared their thoughts on the Epstein files, others shared their thoughts on why Zuma met Jeffrey Epstein.

Here are some of the comments:

joni.boy7 joked:

“I didn't know he would crack the list, but at least we got a mention 👏👏😂😂”

Bettinakrennbauer remarked:

“Maybe there is a twist in the sobriety, but the matter of fact is that none of them were forced to deal with JE, nobody was forced to look at underage girls, touch them or have sex, and the worst is to say it's a mistake made, lying when things come to light. None of them would defend any of us, so why are we looking for maybe this or that to defend their greed?”

adventures_of_the_blue_vase joked:

“🤔I think they discussed Zuma’s new ‘fire pool’…🤭”

Read also

Journalist clarifies Jacob Zuma's alleged meeting with Jeffrey Epstein

Gareth Cliff suggests jail could work for Malema

Meanwhile, Briefly News reported that Gareth Cliff weighed in on Julius Malema’s legal troubles and impending prison sentence.

Gareth Cliff suggested that spending time behind bars could actually work in Julius Malema's favour.

Source: Briefly News