South African opposition says police promise to look into Zuma

South Africa’s main opposition party said on Tuesday that police had promised to look into its accusations of corruption against President Jacob Zuma.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) filed a criminal complaint against Zuma last week after an anti-corruption agency published a report listing allegations of influence-peddling in Zuma’s government.

The DA said an investigation would be conducted by the Hawks, a priority unit within the South African Police Service that handles serious crimes, including corruption.

“I can confirm today that the Hawks will be investigating the DA’s corruption charges against Zuma relating to his role in State Capture,” DA leader Mmusi Maimane said in an emailed statement.

A spokesman for the Hawks, Hangwani Mulaudzi, said the case had been referred to the division for “further investigation”, but it was too early to say what the investigation would focus on.

The anti-graft agency’s report, released on Nov. 2 and entitled “State of Capture”, stopped short of reaching conclusive findings against the president, some of his ministers and heads of state-owned companies. But it has plunged Zuma into the latest crisis.

Since coming to power in 2009, Zuma has survived a string of corruption scandals almost unscathed. He and his supporters have regularly dismissed accusations of corruption.