Zuma said he became a target after calling for radical economic transformation in 2017. Image: AFP
Former president Jacob Zuma’s estranged wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, through her lawyers, reportedly appealed to NPA boss Shamila Batohi to make a decision on whether she would be charged with allegedly attempting to poison her husband.
Though MaNtuli has been at the centre of the allegations since 2015, she continues to deny that she tried to poison her husband.
In a letter sent early this week and seen by The Sowetan, attorney Ulrich Roux was quoted as saying: “This matter has been hanging over my client’s head since June 2015. In four years, the SAPS and the NPA have seemingly made no progress pertaining to any further investigation being conducted herein, and whether there is merit or substance in the allegations levelled against my client.”
In 2017, Ntuli-Zuma also appealed to the NPA to charge her or leave her alone.
TimesLive reported at the time that MaNtuli was considering going to court, as there had been no developments in the case.
Roux told the publication: “My client is frustrated about the delay in the investigation, and she was considering her options pertaining to approaching the High Court of South Africa for a declaratory order directing the NPA to make a decision on whether they are proceeding with a prosecution or not.”
Addressing the ANC Cadres’ Forum in Phongolo, KwaZulu-Natal in 2017, Zuma said he became a target after calling for radical economic transformation.
“I was poisoned and almost died just because South Africa joined Brics [the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa business communities] under my leadership. They said I was going to destroy the country,” Zuma was quoted as saying by IOL.
The revelation came after reports that Russian intelligence agents had discovered that Ntuli-Zuma had been involved in a plot to poison her husband.
They linked this to a period in which the president had fallen inexplicably ill. Since then, she has been banned from Nkandla and sidelined, and it appears this remains the case.
A Zuma family insider allegedly told the Sunday Times at the time that MaNtuli had done “something terrible that could put her in jail for a long time”.
(Compiled by Vhahangwele Nemakonde)
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