South African police raid Gupta home, ANC
to sack Zuma via parliament
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[February 14, 2018]
By Ed Cropley and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The ANC on
Wednesday unveiled plans to sack South African President Jacob Zuma via
a parliamentary no-confidence vote, hours after armed police raided the
luxury home of his friends the Gupta brothers, investigating corruption
allegations.
The raid marked a dramatic escalation in the pressure on Zuma and the
political faction around him accused of milking state resources for
their own ends. Zuma, 75, denies any wrongdoing and it remains unclear
whether he will throw in the towel or dig in deeper.
However, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) backing an
opposition-led no-confidence motion likely to be heard on Thursday, Zuma
appears to have run out of road after nine years in office dogged by
scandal and economic stagnation.
ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu said Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa,
whose election as head of the ANC in December marked the beginning of
the end of Zuma's tenure, could be sworn in as head of state as early as
Friday.
"After we have voted for the removal of the President of the Republic
tomorrow - and depending on the availability of the Chief Justice - we
will also elect a new president," Mthembu told a news conference in Cape
Town.
MORE ARRESTS
The speed of Zuma's demise after two weeks of dithering by the ANC has
stunned South Africa.
The early morning raid, which the police's elite Hawks unit said
resulted in three arrests, took place amid reports Zuma was preparing to
tell the country he was stepping down
The SABC, South Africa's state broadcaster, said a Gupta family member
was among those detained. A senior judicial source said police expected
to arrest up to seven more people and that Gupta family members would be
among them.
"You can't bring a matter of this nature to court and not charge the
people who have benefited the most," the source, who has knowledge of
the police's moves, told Reuters.
Zuma and the Guptas, a family of wealthy Indian-born businessmen, deny
any wrongdoing. A lawyer for the Gupta family said he could not comment
on the raid because he had yet to see the search warrant.
Meanwhile, there was chaos and confusion at Pretoria's Union Buildings,
the official seat of government, over reported plans for Zuma to address
the country.
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said Zuma would speak at 0800 GMT and
satellite trucks were in position overnight. However, Zuma's office
denied there had been any "official communication" of an address and the
scheduled time came and went.
Adding to the mystery, a copy of an email, purportedly from deputy
presidential communications director Shadi Baloyi, circulated on Twitter
telling Pretoria police that plans for a "special media briefing" by
Zuma at 0800 GMT had been canceled.
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Police close off roads around the home of the Gupta family, friends
of President Jacob Zuma, in Johannesburg, South Africa, February 14,
2018. REUTERS/James Oatway
"Kindly ignore my earlier request, as the briefing will not take place
tomorrow," Baloyi wrote. Reuters could not confirm the email's
authenticity and Baloyi did not answer her phone or respond to text
messages.
Zuma's spokesman did not answer his phone.
"CRIME SCENE"
Shortly after dawn, a dozen officers from the elite Hawks police
unit sealed off a street leading to the Gupta mansion in
Johannesburg's upscale Saxonwold suburb. One officer blocked access
to Reuters, saying: "This is a crime scene."
Minutes later, an unmarked police van left the compound as residents
applauded police officers and hurled abuse at security guards for
the Guptas, who have been accused by South Africa's top
anti-corruption watchdog of influence-peddling and swaying the
appointment of cabinet ministers.
"Finally something is being done about it. These guys must get out
of our country. They must leave us alone. They have done enough
damage," said Tessa Turvey, head of the local residents'
association, standing outside the compound's iron gates.
Police also raided the Guptas' Oakbay holding company in
Johannesburg's Sandton financial district, according to a security
guard outside the building.
On Tuesday, the ANC ordered Zuma to step down as president of the
country, giving him no firm deadline but saying the party was sure
he would comply and "respond" on Wednesday.
Hawks spokesman Hangwani Mulaudzi said the raid was part of an
investigation into influence-peddling allegations that are also the
focus of a judicial inquiry into wider corruption involving the
Guptas, dubbed "state capture" in local media.
"We're not playing around in terms of making sure that those who are
responsible in the so-called state capture, they take responsibility
for it," Mulaudzi said.
He declined to give details of what was seized or if the business
premises of the Guptas, whose commercial empire stretches from
mining to media, would also be raided.
Under South African law, suspects cannot be named until they appear
in court.
(Additional reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Tanisha Heiberg in
Johannesburg and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town; Editing by William
Maclean and Janet Lawrence)
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