Women go wild for Ramaphosa son, who loves wildlife
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is known as the “buffalo” in some quarters, but his penchant for wildlife is also enjoyed by the first family.
The Ramaphosas are seen in pictures on their children’s social media accounts, in the wild, in the company of gorillas and with the rare Ugandan ankole longhorn cows.
One of the Ramaphosa sons, Tumelo – who became a social media sensation this week and has had women swooning at his buff physique – runs a business that seeks to preserve wildlife, including buffaloes. He also sells wildlife through his company Studex Wildlife, a cryptocurrency-based business that seeks to preserve and protect endangered species from hunters, poachers, predators and disease.
Last year, the president sold rare Ankole longhorn cows, buffaloes and antelopes for a combined R13 million, Bloomberg reported. Ramaphosa and his wife Dr Tshepo Motsepe have four children, Andile, Tumelo, Keneilwe (Kiki) and Mashudu to Nomazizi Mtshotshisa, who is now late. Ramaphosa also has an older daughter, Tulisa, from his first marriage. With Ramaphosa Tumelo Ramaphosa with rare Ugandan ankole longhorn cows at a game reserve and Kiki, Cyril, wife Tshepo Motsepe and Mashudu Ramaphosa. taking over as the new sheriff at the Union Buildings, attention quickly turned to the offspring. Some women on social media have labelled Tumelo as the new “National Bae” – as they swooned over him, sharing his pictures widely. “R1
million bounty for anyone who hooks me up with Tumelo “Yaka” Ramaphosa,” joked Nkgono Neria on Twitter.
But the 30-year-old Tumelo quickly told her, he was taken.
“I am not interested, I have a beautiful girlfriend,” he wrote.
Tumelo appeared to be enjoying the attention, responding to a number of women and also had time to hit back at those who were concerned about his tattoos.“so what, you are not my mother. I’m not trying to be the president’s son. I’m an entrepreneur doing my own thing. I’m not trying to fit your perfect picture. My mother loves me with all them tats (tattoos), you don’t have to,” he said.
Tumelo appears the most vibrant of the Ramaphosa children, posting publicly on his Instagram page. His younger sisters are more reserved, with private pages and profiles with limited information. Like his father, Tumelo’s penchant for buffaloes and rare cattle beams through on his Instagram account – where he now has more than 4 000 followers. He regularly posts pictures and videos with his girlfriend, Kelebogile Shomang, at the game reserve where the animals are bred. Kiki and Mashudu have largely kept out of the public spotlight and little is known about them. A relative revealed they are students at the University of Cape Town. They attended high school at the prestigious Roedean College in Parktown, Johannesburg.
Family relative Ben Ramaphosa told the Sunday Tribune that the children were hard-working. “Their father never wanted them to rely on his businesses, so he taught them to stand up and build their own profiles. Even with the young girls, they are not spoilt brats.
“At Ramaphosa family gatherings, no talk about politics is allowed. “When he is with the family, he just wants to relax and catch up about other things but not politics,” he said.