How JZ spoke of sex with Khwezi
ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize yesterday made startling revelations about how President Jacob Zuma had in 2005 revealed to him that he had had sexual intercourse with Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo, a daughter of their late comrade.
Mkhize was the MEC for economic development in KZN when Zuma told him about the incident. Yesterday, he issued a seven-page statement in reaction to City Press questions on whether he had tried to convince Kuzwayo to drop the charges against Zuma.
The paper had yesterday reported on the book Khwezi: The Remarkable Story of Fezekile Ntsukela Khuzwayo by veteran radio journalist Redi Tlhabi, and expected to be launched shortly.
When Zuma was accused of rape, he was the deputy president and facing corruption charges at the Pietermaritzburg High Court.
The book claims Mkhize advised Kuzwayo to drop the rape case against Zuma and she rejected his advice.
According to City Press, the book revealed that before and during the rape trial, Kuzwayo, whose late father, Judson Kuzwayo, was Zuma and Mkhize’s close friend in exile during the liberation Struggle, had faced constant intimidation at the hands of Zuma’s supporters, which led her to leave the country. Kuzwayo died last year. Reacting to the allegations, Mkhize denied persuading Kuzwayo to drop the rape charges.
He said he had taken a stance that he had not been prepared to talk about the case, but decided to open up after the book and the City Press story implicating him.
His statement said he was now compelled to reveal how Zuma confessed to him.
He said in 2005 he received a call from Zuma telling him that “he had made a terrible mistake of having sexual relations with Fezeka”.
“I was shocked by this because I had always been under the impression that Fezeka was like a daughter to both of us,” he said.
Mkhize said Zuma had told him that he and Kuzwayo were in an intimate relationship “that had built up over a period between them”.
“In fact, he indicated that they had been conversing for a while,” he said.
But he said he would never have expected Zuma to have an intimate relationship with someone they both regarded as a daughter.
He said after Zuma had informed him that Kuzwayo had intended to lay criminal charges, he asked Zuma why this was the case if the sex had been consensual.
“He (Zuma) said he himself wasn’t sure what could have upset her as he was under the impression that all was well between them. He said Fezeka had not raised any issues or complaint with him.
“He appeared to be puzzled about what had gone wrong between them,” said Mkhize.
He said after listening to Zuma, he made contact with Kuzwayo’s mother Beauty in Durban, and arranged for her to travel to Johannesburg to be with her daughter.
He said he later made an effort to get Kuzwayo’s side of the story, and even arranged for Zuma to pay inhlawulo (cultural damages) in case the intercourse resulted in conception.
“However, if Fezeka insisted that this was rape then we could not proceed with the inhlawulo as this matter would have to be dealt with through a legal process,” he said.
The book revealed that Zuma would arrive at the Johannesburg High Court accompanied by a traditional healer from KwaZulu-Natal.
When contacted about the allegations, Zuma’s spokesperson, Bongani Ngqulunga, said: “The matter was dealt with in court in an open trial. There is therefore nothing new to add.”