By Celani Sikhakhane
- A new book reveals how the former president’s first wife gave him her blessing to marry Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in exile.
- Apartheid police made her lose her baby by kicking her in the stomach because they wanted to find Jacob Zuma.
Former first lady Sizakele maKhumalo-Zuma asked her husband, Jacob Zuma, to take a second wife while he was in exile. She was afraid she would be too old to have children by the time he came home.
This story is shared in Mama, a new book by Dr Baxolile Dimane-Miya. The author spoke on the Open Floor SA Podcast on Wednesday after launching the book in Durban last month.
Zuma was exiled in eSwatini, and the couple kept in touch through letters.
“Mama maKhumalo spent over 10 years as a young bride without [her] husband and without knowing whether he will be able to come back home alive,” Dimane-Miya said.
Because she worried about getting older, she told Zuma to find a younger woman. He agreed and sent her a picture of a young Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. The first wife was happy and gave her blessing.
MaKhumalo-Zuma faced many struggles while waiting. Her father tried to force her to leave Zuma and marry a rich man with cattle. He believed the apartheid government would kill Zuma in exile.
The apartheid police beat her while searching for her husband. They kicked her in the stomach when she was three months pregnant, which caused her to lose her baby.
She was also arrested in eSwatini while trying to cross the border illegally to visit him.
When Zuma became president in 2009, he shocked her by asking her to go to his inauguration. She had never pictured herself at such a big event.
She still treats Zuma’s children as her own because she always wanted him to be a father.
Dimane-Miya will travel to Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Western Cape to promote the book.
Pictured above: Former first lady Sizakele maKhumalo-Zuma with author Dr Baxolile Dimane-Miya at the book launch in Durban.
Image source: Supplied
