By Celani Sikhakhane
- Jacob Zuma allegedly forced KZN premiers to fund R1-million family ceremonies including Reed Dance events at Albert Park in Durban.
- Former premier Senzo Mchunu stopped the funding in 2015 leading to ongoing fight with Zuma who wants him removed as Police Minister.
Former President Jacob Zuma and the traditional leader of kwaNxamalala clan in Mpendle are accused of bullying the KZN Office of the Premier to fund the Zuma family ceremonies.
Scrolla.Africa has been reliably told that when Zuma became state President between 2009 and 2015, he used to bully the Premiers of that time in KZN to fund his family traditional gatherings.
“He would call the Premier and tell him to pay a certain amount for a gathering of his family. There were two gatherings that were very expensive. It was the one when Zuma would do a traditional ceremony at Albert Park in Durban and it used to be attended by virgins who attend the Reed Dance.
“That ceremony would cost the Office of the Premier a R1-million amount just for Zuma to entertain his family. Another event was the one that used to be done by his relative iNkosi Simphiwe Zuma to celebrate the life of their ancestors in Mpendle. That event also used to cost R1-million,” a highly placed source said.
He revealed that other events the Premier’s office was forced to fund were private traditional ceremonies that used to be held at Zuma’s homestead in Nkandla.
A source said that those events used to cost Premier’s office an amount of R300,000.
“The funding of all those Zuma’s family events was stopped by the then Premier in 2015 Senzo Mchunu. Zuma was angry in such a way that he even told Mchunu that he must not forget that he is the one who put him in power to become KZN Premier.
“Mchunu responded by saying he will never allow public funds to be spent on a private gathering of a certain family. This is where their fight started,” a source said.
That 2015 confrontation between Zuma and Mchunu has now turned into a major legal battle at the Constitutional Court.
Mchunu is currently suspended as Police Minister while a judicial commission investigates claims of criminal infiltration in the police and intelligence services.
Zuma’s MK Party is challenging President Cyril Ramaphosa’s authority to suspend Mchunu through the Constitutional Court.
Attempts to get hold of Zuma and Mchunu were unsuccessful while iNkosi Simphiwe Zuma is in prison for the murder of the DA councillor Nhlalayenza Ndlovu from uMngeni Local Municipality.
Pictured above: Jacob Zuma.
Image source: File
