Man who plotted to assassinate Zuma spared jail time

34-year-old Ramosebudi, who sent letters to Anglo Platinum and Ajay Gupta in an attempt to fund an attempted plot to assassinate senior government officials, was found guilty of two counts of attempting to incite to commit conspiracy to murder in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

Ramosebudi was initially facing two counts of incitement to commit murder, however, Matshitse convicted him on charges of attempting to incite to commit conspiracy to murder.

The state “managed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused attempted to incite the employees to conspire and kill those people he had mentioned in his letters,” said Judge Collin Matshitse.

However, the state found the accused was not guilt of the main counts of conspiracy to commit murder and incitement to commit murder, as the state had not proved these two charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

The accused was arrested in Midrand in April 2017.

Ramosebudi sent two letters in 2017, one to Anglo Platinum and one to businessman Ajay Gupta, asking for his assassination plots to be funded.

Ramosebudi reportedly wanted Anglo Platinum to give him money in return for assassinating several officials implicated in state capture, including former president Jacob Zuma, his son, Duduzane, members of the Gupta family, ANC secretary general Ace Magashule, former Eskom boss Brian Molefe, South African Airways board chairperson Dudu Myeni, former Eskom chairperson Ben Ngubane, former head of the National Prosecuting Authority Shaun Abrahams and former finance minister and cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Des van Rooyen.

He then also wrote to Gupta, asking for money to assassinate people supporting “white monopoly capital”.

Those mentioned in this letter included deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas, former public protector Thuli Madonsela, former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor and former GCIS CEO Themba Maseko.

(Compiled by Daniel Friedman)