Allegations against Duduzane could affect his ambitions of a prominent ANC position – analyst

By using his son, Duduzane, as an intermediary between him and the Gupta family, Jacob Zuma turned the state capture project into a family affair. But using Duduzane in this way didn’t put as much distance between Zuma and the Guptas as he might have hoped.

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo found Duduzane acted as a “conduit” between the Gupta family and the government. According to the latest state capture report, Duduzane worked for several years at the Gupta-owned Sahara Computers, where he became a director. He also held 11 directorships in other Gupta-owned companies.

The commission recommended law enforcement agencies investigate the younger Zuma’s involvement in government business. He said Duduzane may have been central to the capture of several government departments and state-owned entities (SOE), potentially facilitating acts of corruption, and failing to report corruption.

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“[He] also seems to have been involved in appointing key individuals in SOEs who facilitated the capture of those institutions. He seems to have acted as a conduit between the Guptas and government, particularly his father.”

Political economy analyst Daniel Silke said these were serious allegations against Duduzane which would affect Duduzane’s ambitions to rise to a future prominent position in the ANC.

“The allegations could potentially lead to legal consequences for him,” he said.

Zondo said after working at Sahara Computers for several years, Duduzane was appointed, at the age of 26, to the board of Mabengela Investments in August 2008 and was given a 25% share in the company in July 2008, followed by another 20% in June 2009. The commission investigators’ examination of public records found Duduzane held sizeable shareholdings in Gupta companies.

He “partially owned Shiva Uranium, Tegeta Resources and Exploration, VR Laser and Mabengela Investments. As such, he would have benefitted from the proceeds of corruption, fraud and state capture which involved these companies.”

The acquisition of Optimum Coal Holdings (OCH) by Tegeta Exploration and Resources was part of what triggered the establishment of the commission.

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Zondo said the acquisition was the central focus of former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s investigation, which culminated in her October 2016 state of capture report.

“The investigations of the commission bore out findings of the public protector in relation to the acquisition of OCH and displayed the acquisition a state capture project pursued through unlawful means and funded by proceeds of crime,” he said.

Zondo concluded at least R1.7 billion of the R2 billion used to purchase Optimum derived from criminally sourced funds. He found that Duduzane received R342 million from the deal. Zondo found that Duduzane was present when Rajesh “Tony” Gupta offered bribes to individuals like Mcebisi Jonas, Mxolisi Dukwana and Vuyisile Kona.

Former Free State MEC Mxolisi Dukwana testified he met Rajesh Gupta at Saxonwold and that Duduzane was present. Zondo said Dukwana claimed he was offered a bribe in return for ensuring that Nulane Management Services was appointed to a Free State project.

Dukwana further testified Rajesh told him about a “Jagersfontein mine deal” where R3 million was distributed between “Mr Gupta”, Magashule and Duduzane every month.

“According to Mr Dukwana, Mr D Zuma nodded in agreement when this deal was mentioned,” he said.

Zondo found Tony Gupta’s strategy to influence and intimidate government officials attached to state-owned entities was rooted in leveraging his relationship with Duduzane.

“Mr Tony Gupta’s idea was that the government officials and SOE officials would have realised that through Mr D Zuma he had easy access to Mr D Zuma’s father, President Zuma.”

Silke, however, noted that state capture was not purely isolated to the Zuma family. He said there were many participants in this and it was effectively a self-enrichment project far beyond the Zuma family themselves, even though Zuma was the chief facilitator, according to Zondo.

“This was a mechanism of sighting money and self-enrichment that was supported by large parts of the ANC,” he said.

– lungas@citizen.co.za