FT: Duduzile Zuma, the “princess” poised to run SA’s most divisive dynasty

Key topics:Zuma-Sambudla accused of recruiting South Africans for Russia’s warDaughter emerges as key figure in Jacob Zuma’s embattled political dynastyLegal battles and internal MK party feuds intensify around her role.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Monica Mark in Johannesburg.Accused of trafficking recruits to fight for Russia, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has become central to her father Jacob Zuma’s movementAlmost as soon as he arrived in Russia, the South African recruit knew something was wrong.Promised training to become a bodyguard for the party of South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma, whom he idolised, he grew increasingly alarmed as his handlers spent days driving, refusing to say where they were going.The recruit, who has not been named for his safety, was relieved when someone familiar turned up: Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of the ex-president himself.Speaking to a group of some 20 would-be trainees earlier this year, the 43-year-old MP warned them the drills ahead would be gruelling, much of them taking place in inhospitable mountains, according to the recruit. She assured them she would train too.A day later, however, Zuma-Sambudla was nowhere to be found. The horrified South Africans discovered they were in the hands of a mercenary outfit fighting on Russia’s frontline against Ukraine.“She never joined us,” the recruit told the Financial Times, as he sheltered in a bunker in Donbas, near the frontline in Ukraine..The scandal of the recruits — in which Zuma-Sambudla has been accused of luring some 17 compatriots to fight for Russia — has fascinated and shocked South Africans. Both another political party and Zuma-Sambudla’s own half-sister have filed police complaints against her in recent days.But it is only the latest in a long line of controversies involving the Zuma family and Zuma-Sambudla, who is emerging as the heir apparent of one of South Africa’s most powerful political dynasties.“She has shown a singular desire for influence and power . . . [and] an aptitude for populist politics,” said Pieter du Toit, an investigative journalist who published a book about Zuma’s presidency.“She is undoubtedly her father’s favourite child, and she will leverage this to make sure that she inherits the mantle.”Zuma-Sambudla, who did not respond to a request for comment, denies wrongdoing, claiming she too was tricked into sending the men. The Hawks, the country’s serious crime unit, are reportedly investigating the complaints.One of the former president’s rumoured 20 children, Zuma-Sambudla is as mercurial and divisive a figure as her father, who himself repeatedly shook off political debacles during nearly a decade as president — only to finally be forced out by corruption scandals in 2018.Suspended from the African National Congress, Zuma has retained a base in his stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal through the newly formed uMkonto weSizwe (MK) party, for which Zuma-Sambudla is an MP.In a first case of its kind in South Africa, she is facing terrorism charges over social media posts that prosecutors allege fuelled riots in which 350 people were killed in 2021, after Zuma was briefly jailed for contempt of court. Zuma-Sambudla called for her father’s supporters to “shut down” KwaZulu-Natal. “Azishe,” she posted, the Zulu word for “let it burn”.In August, a smiling Zuma-Sambudla — who denies the charges and argues they are politically motivated — attended a pretrial hearing wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with “MODERN DAY TERRORIST”, a reference to when ANC members were branded terrorists by the apartheid state.This month she was immaculately dressed in black as she stopped to joke with supporters before entering the courtroom..Duduzile Zuma appears in court in November to face charges of inciting violence during riots in 2021Duduzile Zuma appears in court in November to face charges of inciting violence during riots in 2021 © ReutersZuma played fast and loose with the law during his presidency. Under his tenure, state institutions were hollowed out, graft became rampant and judiciary agencies were rendered toothless, a corruption inquiry found in 2022.“Zuma has proved that he should never be taken lightly,” said Richard Calland, emeritus associate professor in constitutional law at the University of Cape Town. His daughter’s trial, he said, would be important for “learning more about his family’s modus operandi”.Zuma-Sambudla and her twin brother Duduzane were born in neighbouring Mozambique, where her father was in exile overseeing intelligence operations for the ANC.Her mother Kate Mantsho, the second of Zuma’s six wives, fought to help dismantle apartheid before taking her own life in 2000. Her children have said Mantsho left a note barring her husband from attending her funeral after, she wrote, “24 years of hell” during their marriage.Zuma-Sambudla’s first moment in the public glare came in 2006, when she appeared as a defence witness in a rape case against her father, then deputy president of the ANC.The then-23-year-old testified that her “women’s intuition” made her suspect the claimant was “there to sponge off my dad”.“She was either trying to definitely seduce my father or get money,” Zuma-Sambudla said, in testimony which the judge said was decisive in his decision to acquit Zuma.That appearance underscored her role as a loyal daughter willing to stand in the line of fire. Afterwards, she left the court arm-in-arm with her father, joining him as he sang umshini wami — an anti-apartheid chant meaning ‘Bring me my machine gun’ — to cheering fans outside the courthouse.When Zuma launched the MK party in 2023, Zuma-Sambudla was the most prominent of his children by his side on the campaign trail..As 83-year-old Zuma has grown increasingly frail, making fewer and fewer public appearances, his daughter has often appeared to rally the party faithful — emerging as the most visible defender of his legacy.The Russia trafficking allegations, however, have also laid bare bitter feuds at the heart of the family, with Zuma-Sambudla’s half-sister last week lodging an affidavit against her.The case was “driven by my moral obligation”, Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube said in the affidavit, alleging that eight members of her own family were among those taken to Russia.Zuma-Sambudla has in turn has filed her own case, saying she was tricked by a person called Blessing Khoza into believing the training was genuine and was so convinced she sent her own family members to join. She herself travelled to Russia to receive “non-combat” training, she added.Zuma has made no secret of his close ties with Russia, dating back to when the former Soviet Union provided funds, training and resources to African liberation movements.Publicly, at least, the MK party is standing by Zuma-Sambudla, brushing off the debacle as “not an MK issue, [but] a diplomatic issue and a global issue”.“Why is it such a big issue when MK’s name is mentioned? There are many others from all over our continent going to Russia — where is the fuss about them?” Nhlamulo Ndhlela, the party spokesperson, told journalists last week.But insiders say the party is riven by chaos, infighting, back-stabbing and public fallouts.“She is nothing but a pampered princess who has been a wrecking ball in the MK since its formation,” said Thulani Mahlangu, a member of the party’s military veterans wing. “She has been . . . treating the party as the family fiefdom in which she can do as she pleases because she has the ears of her father.”That this internal strife is now spilling on to the national stage mirrored “how the country functioned under Zuma when he was president”, Du Toit, the author, said. “I don’t think we’re surprised by the chaos.”“The Zumas have been with us for decades now and they’re not going anywhere,” he added. “We’re stuck with them.”.© 2025 The Financial Times Ltd.

FT: Duduzile Zuma, the “princess” poised to run SA’s most divisive dynasty

Key topics:

Related Stories