President Jacob Zuma’s brother Michael and son Edward say the family isn’t rich and can’t help him with the R7.8-million he now needs to pay for nonsecurity upgrades at his Nkandla homestead after the National Treasury ordered him to do so this week.
Neither are wealthy businesspeople prepared to dip into their pockets, as some have promised to do previously. “What will they get in return?” said a source who asked not to be named.
The ANC isn’t coming to the rescue either. Secretary-general Gwede Mantashe said: “The Concourt is quite clear, the ANC cannot pay whatever amount.”
Despite the Zuma family’s claims of poverty, some of the children — Duduzane, Duduzile, Gugulethu and Mxolisi — have business interests in several industries, with Duduzane owning stakes in at least six active companies, valued at hundreds of millions of rands. The president’s nephew Khulubuse is also a wealthy businessman with interests in transport, mining and oil.
Said Edward, who has a number of business interests in construction, engineering and oil: “We are not a rich family, perhaps if we were rich we would also be fighting these things and taking people to court. We are a family of hustlers and hard workers.”
According to a teary Michael there were also real fears in the family that corruption charges might be reinstated against Zuma, with his wives being the most concerned “the most concerned and vulnerable”.
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