Zuma’s Son Duduzane to Face Corruption Charges, Says Lawyer

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Duduzane Zuma, the son of scandal-plagued former South African president Jacob Zuma, will face charges relating to allegations of corruption, his lawyer said on Sunday. 

Duduzane Zuma was returning to South Africa to attend his brother’s funeral when he was detained briefly at Johannesburg’s main airport on Friday in relation to a corruption case filed in 2016. 

Zuma is expected to appear in the Johannesburg Specialised Crimes Court on Monday, his lawyer Rudi Krause said, but was unable to give details on what the exact charges were.

“I suspect it has to do with the allegations made by Mcebisi Jonas,” said Krause.

Deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas said in 2016 the Guptas offered him the position of finance minister shortly before former president Zuma sacked then finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, in December, a move that sent markets into a tailspin.

Zuma and the Guptas have denied any wrongdoing.

Former president Zuma, 76, faces charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering relating to a $2.5 billion arms deal in the late 1990s, which he denies.

South Africa’s elite police investigating unit, the Hawks,  launched a corruption probe into Duduzane and the Gupta family in 2016. 

The Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority could not be reached for comment. 

Duduzane Zuma, is also due at Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg next week to face separate charges of culpable homicide over a fatal car crash in 2014. 

Zuma’s Porsche 911 sports car ploughed into a minivan taxi in Johannesburg, killing one woman and seriously injuring another who later died in hospital.

Zuma, who has previously said his car hit a puddle of water, is contesting the charges.

 (Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)