MKP Secretary-General Defends Zuma's Meeting With Ajay Gupta in India
- MKP secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo said the party has no issue with Jacob Zuma meeting Gupta family members in India
- Zuma was photographed alongside Ajay Gupta at an Indian temple earlier this month, reigniting debate over his ties to the controversial family
- Nomvalo maintained the visit was a personal matter and said the MKP would not police the former president's private associations
Source: Getty Images
SOUTH AFRICA — The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has publicly backed former president Jacob Zuma following his appearance alongside Ajay Gupta at an Indian temple earlier this month, saying the encounter falls entirely outside the party's jurisdiction.
MKP secretary-general Sibonelo Nomvalo addressed the photograph in remarks reported by SABC News on 13 July when the party introduced new members including former eThekwini mayor Zandile Dlamini. He said that Zuma's travel to India was undertaken in a personal capacity and centred on a visit to a religious leader. Nomvalo was clear that the MKP had no involvement in the trip and does not intend to exercise oversight over Zuma's private movements.
MKP will not police Zuma's associations
Nomvalo said the party's focus remains on its political mandate and that Zuma, as a private individual when not acting in an official MKP capacity, retains the right to meet whomever he chooses. "Any meetings held outside official party business do not require prior approval or oversight," Nomvalo stated. He reiterated that the party has nothing to do with the visit to the religious figure in India, and that who Zuma interacts with upon arriving at his destination is strictly his personal matter.
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Guptas' background and state capture findings
The Gupta brothers fled South Africa in 2018 as investigations into state capture intensified. The Zondo Commission subsequently concluded that the family leveraged their close relationship with Zuma to redirect billions of rands from state-owned enterprises for private gain. South Africa's recent bid to extradite Rajesh and Atul Gupta from the United Arab Emirates was unsuccessful. Both Zuma and the Guptas have consistently denied all state capture allegations against them.
Source: Briefly News
