Suspended eThekwini city manager adapting after attack at posh estate

Suspended eThekwini city manager Sipho Nzuza is still in hospital recovering from surgery for injuries he allegedly suffered at the hands of five armed gunmen who beat him up at a home in the exclusive Zimbali gated estate.

Approached for comment, he said: “I’m still in hospital recovering. I wouldn’t like to comment more than this as the matter is still with the lawyers.”

The assault on Nzuza on May 1 came to light when Neo Shabalala, the woman he has been living with since earlier this year, obtained an urgent interdict against her estranged husband, Sbu Shabalala, in the Durban High Court.

She alleged that the couple had been living separately for four years and were embroiled in a financial dispute.

She said on the morning of May 1, Sbu, accompanied by five heavily armed gunmen, stormed her Zimbali home, assaulted Nzuza, threw him down the stairs and then threatened her and other guests.

At one stage, Nzuza was in a critical condition in ICU and reportedly had his spleen removed.

Judge Achmat Jappie granted the interdict, preventing Sbu from entering the property or threatening Neo.

After a Sunday Times story about the incident, Sbu, who heads JSE-listed Adapt-IT, said he was taking three months’ leave and that the allegations against him were “without merit”.

The best way to deal with them is through the judicial system. This is not only to clear my name of wrongdoing, but to also bring those who are using my proximity to the situation to serve their own ends. This campaign is cold-hearted and must be condemned.

—  Sbu Shabalala

“The best way to deal with them is through the judicial system. This is not only to clear my name of wrongdoing, but to also bring those who are using my proximity to the situation to serve their own ends. This campaign is cold-hearted and must be condemned,” he said.

He was being accused of “violent and uncharacteristic behaviour, in what is clearly an unrelated attack”, he said. “I have been caught in the crossfire.”

Regarding the timing of his step back, at the height of negotiations for the potential sale of his company, he said he had been tempted to soldier on, but “taking time to regroup is an essential part of good leadership and there is never a perfect time”.

Neo, in her affidavit in the interdict application, insisted Sbu was present, the gunmen were acting on his instructions and he threatened that she only had another 30 days to sign his financial proposal that the Zimbali house, which is held in trust, only be transferred to her in five years.

She accused him and the gunmen of taking photographs of Nzuza being assaulted and sharing them on social media.

She said she attempted to lay a charge against Sbu at Umhlali police station, but officers there deemed it to be domestic violence.

Approached for comment, Capt Nqobile Gwala said: “The complainant arrived at Umhlali police station on 2 May 2021 at 20:35 to report a case of domestic violence that occurred on 1 May 2021. The complainant did not desire a case and was advised to obtain a protection order.”

Sarika Sewpersad, general manager of the Zimbali Estate Management Association, said it was aware of the matter.

“We are able to confirm that it was a private incident and that there was no breach of either the rules of the estate or security.”