When Malema warned SA about Zuma’s alleged Dubai exit plan

EFF leader Julius Malema had the last laugh at the weekend following damning reports of a series of explosive e-mails that alleged that the controversial Gupta family was involved in a scheme to help President Jacob Zuma and his family move to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

The firebrand leader, who has increasingly made predictions about the goings-on within ANC circles, in April last year claimed he had  received “unconfirmed reports” that Zuma was planning to flee the country. At the time, Malema took to social network site Twitter, claiming that “Zuma wants to leave the country and seek asylum in Dubai because he doesn’t feel safe in his country”.

City Press reported that an email from Ashu Chawla, the CEO of Gupta-owned Sahara Computers, to Zuma’s son Duduzane contained a draft letter from the president to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which showed how close Zuma is to the Guptas.

Zuma allegedly wrote in the letter: “I fondly remember our meeting in the UAE [United Arab Emirates] and the gracious hospitality and warmth extended to me during my visit. It is with this sentiment that I am happy to inform you that my family has decided to make the UAE a second home. It will be a great honour for me and my family to gain your patronage during our proposed residency in the UAE.”

Zuma, through his spokesperson, Bongani Nqulunga, has rubbished allegations that he plans to leave the country for the Gulf state.

“I have my home in Nkandla and I have no intention of living anywhere else. When I retire I will go home to Nkandla. This is a pure fabrication. Duduzane has never spoken to me about living in any other country,” Zuma said. “He has never shown me any letter. It’s shocking in the extreme. It’s absolute mischief aimed at sowing confusion.”

Following the decision by the ANC’s national executive committee to once more reject a motion of no confidence in Zuma at its three-day meeting in Irene‚ Pretoria – Malema said the failure by the party’s highest structure to retain the president despite a barrage of scandals  shows that the problem isn’t only Zuma but the entire leadership of the party.

On denials by Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba that he isn’t involved in state capture after a report by the Public Affairs Research Institute found that he appointed people linked to the Guptas to the boards of state-owned enterprises when public enterprises minister, EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi slammed the minister on Twitter and accused him of being a liar.

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