South Africa wants to put former presidents on a tighter leash when they travel abroad.
Foreign Affairs Minister Ronald Lamola told parliament on Wednesday that his department has recommended new protocols after ex-President Jacob Zuma’s recent trip to India sparked diplomatic fallout.
The problem: Zuma met Ajay Gupta at an Indian temple last month. Gupta and his brothers were accused about a decade ago of using their ties to Zuma to influence government decisions and profit from state contracts. The allegations were central to the “state capture” inquiry that helped end Zuma’s presidency. Zuma and the Guptas have always denied wrongdoing.
A photo of Zuma, 84, with Gupta surfaced online. South Africa’s high commissioner to India, Anil Sooklal, was also in the picture. The government has now recalled Sooklal. He says he did nothing wrong.
The incident drew sharp criticism at home. One minister said Zuma was giving South Africa “the middle finger.”
Under the proposed rules, former heads of state would have to submit full details of any planned foreign trip in advance. The idea is to assess what support they need, and to flag any reputational, political, diplomatic or security risks.
This is not Zuma’s first controversial trip since leaving office. Last year he went to Morocco as leader of the opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe party and voiced support for Morocco’s claim over Western Sahara, a position South Africa rejects. He was photographed next to the South African flag during that meeting, prompting a formal protest from Pretoria to Rabat.
Since leaving the ANC, the party he once led, Zuma now heads MK. The Gupta brothers left South Africa in 2018 as the state capture inquiry began. South Africa later dropped its arrest warrant for Ajay. Two other brothers, Atul and Rajesh, are in the UAE, where a court in 2023 rejected an extradition request from South Africa.
Lamola says the goal of the new rules is “more transparency” around how ex-leaders represent the country, even in a private capacity.
