Now entering the province of KWAZUMA-NATAL
You don’t have to belong to the family to hold sway, but it helps
THE jury is still out on whether another Zuma will succeed the incumbent as the next president of South Africa, but in KwaZulu-Natal the Zuma dynasty is now in full control.
Research by the Sunday Times reveals that blood relatives of President Jacob Zuma control key positions in both the government and the ANC in the province — and that they are likely to do so long after he has stepped down.
The emergence of AU Commission chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as one of the leading presidential candidates ahead of next year’s ANC elective conference has sparked debate on whether this is a ploy by the current president to extend his influence beyond his term of office.
But the Zuma family influence has become quite clear in KwaZulu-Natal where the president’s relatives — from provincial ANC secretary Super Zuma to businessman and Zuma nephew Deebo Mzobe — wield enormous influence.
As provincial ANC secretary, Super Zuma is the second-most powerful politician in the province. He advises provincial party leader Sihle Zikalala (tipped to be the next premier) on who to deploy in key positions.
If the ANC political tradition in KwaZulu-Natal is anything to go by, Super Zuma will one day succeed Zikalala as provincial chairman — putting him on the path for premiership of the province by 2024.
Super Zuma, a former trade unionist, regards the president as his “grandfather” because the president is a cousin of his late father. Super is the nephew of Impendle Zuma clan chief Simphiwe Zuma. Simphiwe’s father, John Zuma, and the president share a paternal grandfather, Matomela Zuma.
Soon after Super and Zikalala took over the running of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, they lobbied for a provincial cabinet reshuffle in which Mthandeni Dlungwane, whose mother was the president’s cousin, was appointed education MEC.
Dlungwane is also influential in ANC structures as chairman of the Moses Mabhida region, which includes Pietermaritzburg.
During his spell as ANC Youth League chairman in the province, Dlungwane played a key role in lobbying for Zuma’s re-election as ANC president when he was challenged by his then deputy, Kgalema Motlanthe, for the post in 2012.
But the most influential figure of the lot must be Deebo Mzobe, an Nkandla businessman with close ties to both the president and Zikalala.
He is regarded as Zikalala’s confidant and was instrumental in the president’s failed attempt to turn Nkandla into a commercial centre a few years ago.
The president’s mother, Geinamazwi Mzobe, was Deebo Mzobe’s aunt.
Another key figure in the Zuma clan is Thobani Zuma, the deputy mayor of Umsunduzi municipality. Thobani is chief Simphiwe Zuma’s nephew.
The Zumas run the ANC in Pietermaritzburg where, in addition to Dlungwane being chairman, another Zuma, Mzi, is regional secretary.
Mzi Zuma is Super Zuma’s nephew.
Even the powerful taxioperating Gcaba family has links to the president. The president’s sister married into the family and one of her sons is Mfundo Gcaba.
This pecking order has explained why, when the chips are down, Zuma often retreats to the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands to recharge his batteries.
Zuma has made no fewer than four trips to Pietermaritzburg this year to speak at rallies and cadre forums organised by the Moses Mabhida region that is controlled by his nephews.
The Zumas in the KwaZuluNatal Midlands have entrenched Zuma’s influence through the staging of two halfmarathons that attract huge sponsorships from both the government and the private sector.
The Mandela half-marathon from Imbali township to the site of Nelson Mandela’s capture in Howick, and the JG Zuma marathon between New Hanover and Greytown, have become key events on the region’s calendar.
Super this week confirmed the provincial Zumas and their powerful cousins were all related to the president.
“Yes we are related because we come from the same chieftain and royal blood, but that does not make the president or the other my direct relatives. But the blood is the same,” he said.
“The president comes from the Msholozi royal house in Nkandla while we come from the Lugaju one in Impendle. This was once a single royal house which separated through rival battles and we have just reconciled 10 years ago.”
Super and his nephews are said to be at the forefront of the campaign for Dlamini-Zuma to take over as ANC president from their uncle in December next year. IN-LAW: The president’s sister married into the taxiowning dynasty of Mandla Gcaba YO, CUZ: Businessman Deebo Mzobe’s aunt was the president’s mother, Geinamazwi Mzobe DYNASTY: President Jacob Zuma’s relatives dominate the provincial ANC
This was once a single royal house which separated . . . and we have just reconciled 10 years ago
SUPER CONNECTED: Provincial ANC secretary Super Zuma says of his cousin the president: ‘We come from the same chieftain and royal blood’