I think President Zuma was being very loyal to the friendship he had with the Gupta family - Mo Shaik tells Zondo commission
26 November 2019
Former intelligence head Mo Shaik told the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture on Tuesday that former president Jacob Zuma was being loyal to his friendship with the Gupta family when he allegedly dismissed red flags relating to national security.
"For someone who has known the president for a long time, I will not say he is stubborn – but when he had made [up] his mind, it is often difficult to shift that mindset. I think he was being very loyal to the friendship he had with the Gupta family.
"Even though that loyalty was causing him embarrassment in his public office, I think he was in a state of mind that there is nothing wrong here and we should accept that. The facts did not matter at that point," Shaik said.
The former intelligence head was referring to the period when he sought relief from the president after then-minister of intelligence Siyabonga Cwele allegedly dismissed his bid to investigate the controversial family.