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South Africa Ex-President Zuma Mentioned in Epstein Emails

Emails link Jacob Zuma to a private 2010 dinner with Jeffrey Epstein at the Ritz, while modelling agency emails reveal scouting interest in South Africa, documents show.

  • On Friday, 23 January, the US Department of Justice released three million pages of Epstein documents that include emails showing Jacob Zuma had a March 2010 dinner at the Ritz Hotel with Epstein and a Russian model.
  • At the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II, Zuma, who had been president for about 10 months, attended a dinner during his three-day UK visit from 3 to 5 March 2010.
  • On Thursday, 4 March 2010, Mark Lloyd emailed Vera saying he was arranging a small dinner for President Jacob Zuma at the Ritz Hotel at 7:00pm; Vera accepted, shared her modelling background, and asked about the dress code.
  • The Jacob Zuma Foundation responded that the claims linking Zuma to Epstein are a smear campaign and the emails show no unlawful or improper conduct, with spokespersons Mzwanele Manyi and Advocate Lungi Manyi calling the reports agenda-driven journalism and refusing speculative narrative-building.
  • Beyond Zuma, the files reference other high-profile names and put the City of Cape Town in the spotlight, following Jeffrey Epstein's August 2019 death and Ghislaine Maxwell's 20-year sentence, though being named is not proof of wrongdoing.
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@ScrollaAfrica #RealNewsForMobile broke the news in on Monday, February 2, 2026.
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