On Saturday, former president Jacob Zuma accused his successor Cyril Ramaphosa of committing treason over the Phala Phala scandal.
A day later, on Sunday, without mentioning names, Ramaphosa said state capture was a crime against the ordinary people of South Africa - and Jacob Zuma was highly implicated in state capture.
"The corruption that manifested itself through state capture was a crime against the ordinary people of South Africa," said Ramaphosa.
"The money that was stolen and abused robbed our people of resources that should have led to the development of our country and improved livelihoods."
Ramaphosa laid out his plans to implement recommendations by the State Capture Commission of Inquiry that was chaired by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
The report made 350 recommendations and 202 of those were for criminal prosecutions.
Fine-tuned, Ramaphosa said Zondo's recommendations would tie the noose tighter around the necks of those implicated in state capture. The implications rocked Zuma's presidency and led to his spectacular demise in 2018.
Ramaphosa said an investigative directorate will be established as a permanent entity within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to fight any attempts to capture the state in future.
Zuma's close associates, the controversial Gupta family, were placed at the centre of the state capture web during Zondo's commission.
Ramaphosa said the commission made 202 recommendations with respect to criminal investigation and possible prosecution of individuals.
"The recommendations are currently receiving attention from law enforcement agencies, through a Joint Task Force, working in collaboration with other agencies, including the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC)."
He said the NPA has enrolled 26 cases, declared 89 investigations and 165 accused people have appeared in court for alleged state capture-related offences.
Among them is the former Eskom chief executive Brian Molefe, a close pal of the Gupta family.
Ramaphosa said the state has recovered R2.9 billion, while the Special Investigating Unit has instituted four high court cases in relation to contracts worth R62.1 billion relating to state capture.
"The commission's findings and evidence have resulted in collections of R4.8 billion in unpaid taxes," he said.
During his briefing on Saturday, Zuma maintained that his hands were clean despite mountainous evidence presented at the Zondo commission that he gave the Guptas the leeway to capture the state coffers.
