In the dark

摘要

AT A COFFEE shop on the outskirts of Pretoria, South Africa's capital, an official from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) walks in, checks whether he recognises anyone, sits down, and emits a long sigh. Last year he was appointed by President Rama-phosa to be one of his men inside the key criminal-justice institution, tasked with investigating serious cases of graft. What he found has shocked him. "I'm in the lion's den," he says, insisting on anonymity. "This country will take a long time to fix." Corruption in South Africa did not suddenly spring up in the Zuma era. Under apartheid there were networks of graft among the armed forces, businessmen and the ruling National Party. After the anc won the election in 1994 it deployed its cadres throughout national and local government as part of a web of patronage. A corrupt arms deal finalised by South Africa in 1999, for which Mr Zuma still faces more than 700 criminal charges, is only the most high-profile case of dirty business from that era.