Johannesburg: South Africa’s sports minister appeared in court on Wednesday on corruption charges as the ruling ANC party discussed forming a government after a poor showing in last week’s general election.
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa has been arrested along with friends and business associates in connection with a major investigation into state corruption under President Jacob Zuma.
“We can confirm that two people have been arrested this morning following the Zondo Commission’s recommendation for state arrest,” Thandi Mbambo, spokeswoman for the Hawks police station, told AFP.
Kodwa was formally charged when he appeared in a special court south of Johannesburg for a bail hearing that was broadcast online with special defendant John McKay.
The Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The Zondo Panel is a judicial inquiry led by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to investigate corruption during Zuma’s nine-year presidency.
The results were presented in 2022 by the current leader of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa.
News platform News24 reported that Kodwa was accused of taking 1.6 million rand ($85,000) in bribes for a contract awarded by the City of Johannesburg to upgrade and maintain the metro’s software system.
It was a great moment for the African National Congress, where Kodwa is a senior member.
In talks to form a coalition or minority government after the party suffered a serious setback in last week’s general election, where it fell below 50 percent of the vote for the first time since the democracy came to power in 1994.
The ANC won 40 percent of the vote – a disastrous drop from the 57.5 it achieved in 2019 – and lost its outright parliamentary majority.
Kodwa is an ANC member expected to win a seat in the National Assembly.
Zuma, who was ousted as president and leader of the ANC in 2018 amid corruption allegations fueled by the Zondo report, won 15% of the vote ahead of his party, Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), which was formed last week.
