Amputee seamstress inspires ANC NEC’s Zweli Mkhize

NEC member and former ANC treasurer general Zweli Mkhize says the story of Bolekwa Salusalu‚ a triple amputee who is a seamstress‚ is an inspirational story that needs to be told.

Despite her hands and a leg having been amputated because gangrene set in‚ she makes clothes.

Salusalu lives in a one-room shack with her four children and six grandchildren. It leaks when it rains and the outside toilet overflows when it’s flushed.

Mkhize said Salusalu‚ 63‚ had to be given support to improve her circumstances. He said he would help find her an investor to expand her business.

"She has a vision of what she can do and a skill she can utilise so she can overcome her disability. She is aspiring to have a bigger clothes manufacturing operation and train others. This is very inspirational and her story needs to be told because it will tell a lot of people of what we can do."

The Daily Dispatch reported in 2015 how Salusalu's plight began in 2011 when she visited her local clinic for what she suspected was gout. “My toe was turning purple and they referred me to hospital. The doctor said my blood was not reaching my leg and gangrene had set in. I was admitted to hospital and two days later‚ two other toes had also turned black‚” she said at the time.

Mkhize said he would speak to Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu about getting Salusalu temporary shelter.