He may have been busy running the country and its ruling party, but it appears former president Jacob Zuma also found the time to assist the Gupta family and their business associates to establish their controversial television station, ANN7.

Zuma was allegedly a key player in deciding how the station should be run – from suggesting its name and approving its logo, to dictating its editorial policy – to paint him and his political allies in a positive light.

The Guptas even gave him a code name, “Number Nine”, when they spoke about him to the station’s bosses...