JOHANNESBURG – The South African government has sharply criticised former president Jacob Zuma after he met with one of the Gupta brothers accused of looting millions from state coffers.

A video posted on social media shows Zuma (84) meeting Ajay Gupta at a temple in Haridwar, India, last month. In the footage, Zuma refers to Gupta as a “brother and friend” and suggests he plans to stand for re-election.

Cabinet minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said it was “very disturbing” that a former head of state would openly meet with someone linked to massive fraud.

“He continues to show a middle finger and claim that he wants to run this country again,” Ntshavheni told journalists on Friday.

The three Gupta brothers built a sprawling business empire in South Africa before fleeing in 2018 when a judicial commission began investigating allegations of “state capture” during Zuma’s presidency.

A 2016 anti-corruption report claimed the Indian-born brothers paid bribes to influence ministerial appointments and plunder state organs.

Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola accused Zuma of running a “parallel foreign policy” and said the government has launched an inquiry into the visit.

Ntshavheni called it a “disgrace” that South Africa’s high commissioner to India, Anil Sooklal, accompanied Zuma to the meeting.

Ajay Gupta was declared a fugitive from justice in 2018, though authorities dropped charges against him the following year. His younger brothers, Atul and Rajesh, fled to the United Arab Emirates, where a court rejected a South African extradition request in 2023.

“I decided to take a decision to retake the country forward. I am contesting,” Zuma says in the video.

Zuma served as president from 2009 until 2018, when he was forced to resign under a cloud of corruption allegations. He now leads the opposition Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party.

South Africa holds local government elections in November, with the next presidential election scheduled for 2029.

WATCH JACOB ZUMA’S INTERVIEW HERE OVER THE AJAY GUPTA ISSUE.

ALSO READ: Calls mount to strip Zuma of privileges after meeting with fugitive Gupta in India