The Hawks say they are investigating bribery charges against former president Jacob Zuma after businessman Chaile Seretse submitted an affidavit in December claiming Zuma accepted a R1-million bribe to keep Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana in Cabinet.
The man alleged to have given the bribe is convicted child molester Deon Larry, a Western Cape abalone dealer, according to City Press.
The affidavit handed to Lyttelton Police Station in Centurion also implicates Cosatu president Sdumo Dlamini and agriculture department deputy director-general Siphokazi Ndudane, who, along with Zokwana, each allegedly received R300 000 from the total R1.9 million bribery money.
Seretse, a chief operating officer at abalone processing company Willjarro in Gaansbaai, Western Cape, alleges that these transactions took place in 2016, shortly after the local government elections, to keep Zokwana from getting the chop.
Ndudane, James Booi and Fryman Baatjies – involved in the abalone fishing and abalone processing industry – wanted to keep Zuma from reshuffling Zokwana in the hope that the minister would carry out their “transformation agenda”, Seretse claimed.
The affidavit claims Ndudane and Booi drove to Zuma’s Nkandla homestead to deliver the money.
City Press reports says it is in possession of a voice recording capturing a recent conversation between Booi and Willjarro chief executive Gershom Ramazan, which the paper says confirms the bribery plot.
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