Heavily armed South African police raided the luxury home of the Gupta family on Wednesday as part of a probe into allegations the three brothers had corrupt links to President Jacob Zuma, who has been ordered by the ruling ANC to quit as head of state.
The raid marks a dramatic escalation in the pressure on Zuma and the political faction around him accused of milking state resources for their own ends. It remains unclear whether the 75-year-old will throw in the towel, or dig in deeper.
The early morning raid, which the police's elite Hawks unit said resulted in three arrests, took place amid reports Zuma was preparing to tell South Africa he was stepping down after nine years in office dogged by scandal and economic stagnation.
The SABC, South Africa's state broadcaster, said a Gupta family member was among those detained. A senior judicial source said police expected to arrest up to seven more people and that top Gupta family members would be among them.
"You can't bring a matter of this nature to court and not charge the people who have benefitted the most," the source, who has knowledge of the police's moves, told Reuters.
Zuma and the Guptas - a family of wealthy Indian-born businessmen - deny any wrongdoing. A lawyer for the Gupta family said he could not comment on the raid because he had yet to see the search warrant.
Meanwhile, there was chaos and confusion at Pretoria's Union Buildings, the official seat of government, over reported plans for Zuma to address the country.
Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said Zuma would speak at 0800 GMT and satellite trucks were in position overnight. However, Zuma's office denied there had been any "official communication" of an address and the scheduled time came and went.
Adding to the mystery, a copy of an email, purportedly from deputy presidential communications director Shadi Baloyi, circulated on Twitter telling Pretoria police that plans for a "special media briefing" by Zuma at 0800 GMT had been cancelled.
"Kindly ignore my earlier request, as the briefing will not take place tomorrow," Baloyi wrote. Reuters could not confirm the email's authenticity and Baloyi did not answer her phone or respond to text messages.
Zuma's spokesman did not answer his phone.
Power struggle?
Signs of law enforcement mobilising against the Guptas - and by association Zuma - caused the rand to strengthen 0.5% against the dollar. The currency has tended to gain ground on any sign of Zuma's political departure approaching.
Zuma's silence has fuelled speculation of an increasingly desperate power struggle behind the scenes with deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, whose election to the head of the ANC in December marked the beginning of the end of Zuma's tenure.
Besides his controversial relationship with the Guptas, who were moved to South Africa from India in the early 1990s, Zuma has 783 counts of corruption outstanding against him relating to a $2.5 billion state arms deal in the late 1990s.
Besides the pressure from the ANC, Zuma is facing a no-confidence motion in parliament brought by the opposition Economic Freedom Fighters. That motion is set for February 22.
The ANC could throw its weight behind such a vote if Zuma, who has survived several no-confidence motions in the past, refused to heed its orders to resign. The entire Cabinet would have to step down if such a vote went through.
