SAfrica graft probe at risk of subversion: minister

A respected South African minister and anti-graft campaigner on Monday warned an official probe into widespread state corruption risks being subverted by those who illicitly enriched themselves.

Pravin Gordhan, the minister of state-owned companies, issued the warning as he gave evidence to a judge-led inquiry into alleged corruption that tainted former president Jacob Zuma's time in office.

The radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, which previously backed Gordhan, protested outside the Johannesburg-based inquiry accusing him of being "corrupt", an "enabler" of corruption and Zuma's "biggest defender".

"Those who have engaged... in malfeasances, (will) engage in the politics of distraction," said Gordhan.

Gordhan was finance minister before he was abruptly fired by Zuma in March 2017.

He estimated that around 100 billion rand (USD 7 billion) may have been stolen through corrupt government tenders.

He said he was "an unwitting member of an executive... which was lied to, manipulated and abused for the benefit of a few families".

"We allowed a climate of impunity in respect of crime and corruption to emerge."