Jacob Zuma Foundation Denies Former President’s Involvement in Jeffrey Epstein Sexual Trafficking

• The Jacob Zuma Foundation has responded to allegations that the former president, Jacob Zuma, was implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein saga
• Emails allegedly between Zuma's representative and a representative from Epstein's camp went viral as questions of Zuma's extent of his alleged involvement surfaced
• The Foundation slammed the allegations as more South African names are expected to surface in the Epstein records

Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international politics, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his 10 years of experience.

JOHANNESBURG — The Jacob Zuma Foundation has slammed allegations that the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party president, Jacob Zuma, was implicated in the Jeffrey Epstein saga.

According to Daily Maverick, Zuma allegedly had a meeting with Epstein and a Russian model between 3 March and 5 March 2010 during his first state visit to the United Kingdom after being sworn in as the South African president in 2009. Zuma was accompanied by his wife, Tobeka Zuma. However, his meeting with Epstein allegedly occurred on the last night of his visit.

Read also

Tshwane seeks to blacklist Edwin Sodi over R250 million wastewater project failure

How Zuma's meeting with Epstein was organised

In one of the emails, dated 4 March 2010, an individual named Mark Lloyd sent an email to someone addressed as Vera, who said he was a friend of Epstein, tasked with arranging a dinner for Zuma at the Ritz hotel. Mark then requested Vera to give him a little information about herself. In response, the woman explained that she was a Russian who had been in London for the past two years.

The Russian woman explained that she was a model and modelled across the world in Spain, Japan, France, and the United States. In a separate email, allegedly sent by former British high-ranking official Peter Mandelson, the Russian model's attendance was confirmed. Mark Lloyd also sent an email praising the model's beauty and intelligence, and Zuma's charm.

What did the Zuma Foundation say?

The foundation said that the allegations were an attempt to smear Zuma's name and refused to comment further. However, Daily Maverick noted that more influential South Africans are expected to be publicised. The identity document of a South African was among the identity documents that were seized from the Epstein files on his island.

Read also

Joburg's R986,129 wall scandal: How a councillor's diligence uncovered the truth

South Africans were stunned by the discovery and demanded to know the answers. Netizens shared different theories about the ID and wanted to know if more South African IDs were found.

Jacob Zuma takes a swipe at Floyd Shivambu

In another article, Briefly News reported that Zuma aimed at the MK Party's former secretary-general, Floyd Shivambu, during a meeting with the party's Limpopo provincial structures. The meetings were held between 24 and 26 January 2026.

Zuma said that he has brought a young man from Limpopo into his political fold. He seemingly struggled to remember his name, and when attendees shouted "Floyd," he laughed and said that he remembered his name.

Source: Briefly News