JOHANNESBURG — A top member of South Africa’s governing African National Congress party appeared in court on Friday, charged with corruption, in a rare sign that powerful members of the party could be held to account for endemic pilfering of public funds under former President Jacob Zuma. Ace Magashule, the party’s secretary general, was charged with 21 counts including fraud, money laundering and corruption, in a court in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State province, where he headed the government for nearly a decade. Mr. Magashule, who denies any wrongdoing, was released on bail. Mr. Magashule is considered one of the A.N.C.’s “top six” — the most influential members of the party that has governed South Africa since the end of white minority rule in 1994. He oversees the day-to-day running of the party, and his arrest could, in theory, push him to leave the influential position.

Source: New York Times November 13, 2020 16:18 UTC