South Africa's anti-graft watchdog confirms Gupta report is final

Reuters
South African President Jacob Zuma laughs ahead of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's medium term budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's Public Protector, a constitutionally-mandated anti-graft watchdog, confirmed on Wednesday that an investigation into possible undue political influence by wealthy friends of President Jacob Zuma was final. Zuma filed an affidavit to court on Tuesday seeking clarification over whether he would be able to question witnesses himself before the public protector finalised its report. "The Public Protector has the President’s latest affidavit and has through the attorneys confirmed that the report was finalised and signed ... on 14 October 2016," the public protector's spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi said. (Reporting by Joe Brock; Editing by James Macharia)