<span style="color: #222222;">South Africa's corruption-accused former President Jacob Zuma today testified at a judicial inquiry into the alleged looting of state funds while he was in power. Zuma is accused of fostering a culture of corruption during a nine-year reign before he was ousted in 2018 by the ruling African National Congress party and replaced by the incumbent Cyril Ramaphosa. <br />''</span><br />''Addressing the commission at the start of the day, Zuma said that he had been the victim of character assassination over 20 years. His request to see questions in advance was denied by the inquiry commission, which had invited him to appear to give his side of the story after other witnesses gave damning evidence against him.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">The probe is investigating a web of deals involving government officials and state-owned companies.</span><br />