Former South African President Jacob Zuma has been mentioned in a newly released tranche of documents linked to the late US financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after his name appeared in a series of emails concerning a dinner allegedly organised in London in 2010.
The emails, now part of the so-called Epstein files, reference a private dinner arranged at the Ritz Hotel in London during Zuma’s official state visit to the United Kingdom between March 3 and March 5, 2010. Correspondence suggests the event was facilitated by Epstein and involved invitations to select guests, including a Russian model described in one message as “beautiful.”
The documents show that on March 4, 2010, an individual copying Epstein sent an email inviting a guest to attend a dinner for President Zuma scheduled for that evening. The email described Epstein as a personal friend and noted that the invitee was chosen to add “real glamour” to the occasion. The recipient later responded, confirming attendance and providing personal background details, including her work as an international fashion model based in London.
In another email chain, Epstein contacted British politician Lord Peter Mandelson, informing him that a dinner for Zuma was taking place at the Ritz and that a Russian model had been invited. There is no recorded response from Mandelson in the released documents.
Further correspondence dated March 6 and 7 includes a message praising the model’s presence at the dinner and offering a favourable personal impression of Zuma, describing him as more engaging than expected. The emails do not allege any criminal or improper behaviour involving Zuma.
Being named in the Epstein files does not, in itself, imply wrongdoing. The Jacob Zuma Foundation has strongly rejected media reports linking the former president to Epstein, dismissing them as speculative and misleading.
In a statement issued to South African outlet Daily Maverick and referenced by the BBC, the foundation described the coverage as “agenda-driven journalism built on innuendo” and “retrospective guilt by association.” It stressed that no unlawful or improper conduct by Zuma was alleged or established in the documents.
“The attempt to smear President Zuma by proximity to the unrelated crimes of a third party is unethical, irresponsible and intellectually dishonest,” the statement said, adding that the foundation would not engage in “speculative narrative-building.”
Epstein, who maintained relationships with prominent political and business figures worldwide, died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
