Former President Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane, has ended his two-day presentation at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into corruption, claiming that he was innocent of all allegations levelled against him.
On the final day of his testimony at the commission on Tuesday, Duduzane denied all allegations “that brand me as a face of corruption” in the country.
According to Duduzane, witnesses who came before him to present their testimony against him at the inquiry were merely tarnishing his image, and were not truthful.
Denying the allegations of taking part in state capture, Duduzane claimed that he was innocent of any wrong during his working ties with the exiled India-born Gupta Brothers under his father’s reign, when state capture was the stuff of daily news headlines.
Responding to Duduzane’s testimony, former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela who wrote the state capture report that led to the formation of the inquiry commission, disputed this.
“I don’t know why he is lying but I know what he has gained by lying. What he has gained by lying is diversion and victimhood,” Madonsela said on Tuesday.
Madonsela said the state capture hearing was an opportunity for Zuma to tell his side of the story and it was not about whether he was treated properly or not.
“He should see the commission as a continuum from the public protector. It is sort of a relay, we have handed over the baton to the commission,” she said.
NM/as/APA