I bought this ring for myself, says Dlamini-Zuma

Former African Union (AU) chairperson and ANC presidential hopeful Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has denied rumours that she and ex-husband President Jacob Zuma were picking up where they had left off more than 20 years ago.

Magda Wierzycka, chief executive officer of Sygnia Group, recently shared that she had been “reliably” informed that Dlamini-Zuma was wearing her wedding ring “again”.

“Secret marriage? Renewal of vows? Congratulations seem in order,” she said.

But the presidential hopeful did not hold back from putting an end to the “gossip” Wierzycka was spreading about her. She responded to her speculation, and said though she had been wearing the ring, it was bought by her, and not her ex-husband, contrary to what her informant had implied.

“Hi Magda, not that it’s important, but everything I own, ring included, I bought for myself. Let’s rather be progressive and policies such as gender budgeting. You are better than this gossip,” Dlamini-Zuma said.

The presidential hopeful’s campaign has been criticised by – among others – the SACP, who said electing Dlamini-Zuma as ANC president would turn the ruling party into a “Zuma dynasty”.

However, Dlamini-Zuma said in a recent interview that though she was married to Zuma and had been divorced from him for over 20 years, she did not think that history mattered, as she was an activist in her own right.

She joined the struggle way before she married Zuma, and that is what people should focus on, she added.

“Even when President Nelson Mandela appointed me as minister of health, and he knew I was married to him, but he also knew that I was a cadre of an organisation in my own right. That’s why he appointed me. I did my job, nobody can say I couldn’t do my job.”

Though it doesn’t “bother” her, she said only seeing her as Zuma’s ex-wife was a “patriarchal sexist thing” done by those who had nothing to offer. It only showed her how sexist some people were, she added.

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