BBC Africa is reporting South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma has resigned. Zuma has battled corruption charges since before assuming the presidency in 2009. In 2016, Zuma was ordered by South Africa’s constitutional court to reimburse the state $16 million spent upgrading his private home. The home of Zuma’s close friends Atul Gupta was raided by South African police Wednesday. Gupta, who is worth 10.7 billion rand ($773 million) is the seventh richest South African and the richest South African of color. Gupta who came to South Africa in 1993, made his fortune along with his brothers Ajay and Rajesh with a string of companies in mining, media and technology. Gupta has been accused of using his political connections to Zuma to fuel his success.
Under pressure from his party (African National Congress), Zuma resigned rather than face a vote of no-confidence. Zuma has been a controversial figure for decades yet managed to stay in the good graces of former President Nelson Mandela. Today, the Mandela Foundation called for Zuma to step down “because he has demonstrated that he is not fit to govern.”
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