Two people believed to be friends with embattled South African President Jacob Zuma have been arrested. South Africa’s elite police – the hawks – stormed the residence of the Gupta brothers accused of corruption, influence peddling and exerting pressure on the government.
One of the brothers and another person were whisked off by the hawks, said the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC. It was reported that three arrests have so far been made, while the police were said to be expecting two other people to hand in themselves.
The Gupta family have been accused using their friendship with President Jacob Zuma to wield enormous political influence for their business interests. They were, among other things, accused of colluding with President Zuma to win government contracts.
They all deny the allegations.
The powerful Indian family moved to South Africa in 1993, owning businesses in various spheres of the economy such as mining, air travels, energy, technology and media. One of Zuma’s sons and daughter allegedly work for the family.
The embattled South African president defied calls on him to step down from power. A meeting of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress held on Monday and resolved Zuma resign, but the president spurned the advice.
