CAPE TOWN: South African President Jacob Zuma has denied reports of planning to retire to Dubai. Several leaked emails were published, out of which one purportedly written by his son Duduzane included a draft of a letter from his father to Dubai's Crown Prince. Zuma was quoted as saying, “I am happy to inform you that my family has decided to make the UAE a second home. It will be a great honour for me and my family to gain your patronage during our proposed residency in the UAE.”
However, Zuma strongly denied all claims of having written to the Prince informing him of making the city his “second home”. Spokesperson Bongani Nqulunga spoke on the Prez's behalf. “I have my home in Nkandla and I have no intention of living anywhere else. When I retire I will go home to Nkandla. This is pure fabrication,” he said. Similar reports had circulated last year. The letter was linked to a bunch of emails allegedly linked to the millionaire Gupta family who run mining and computer businesses and are considered close to the South African president.
Zuma faces steady pressure from his own party, weathering calls for his resignation within the ANC, over corruption allegations.
