Norma and Malusi Gigaba’s biggest scandals

Norma and Malusi Gigaba are the picture of wedded bliss – well, as far as social media is concerned. But behind closed doors, the couple are dealing with several scandals.

Malusi announced this week that he was resigning as Home Affairs Minister. The move comes after growing pressure for the minister to step down.

From accusations of being involved in the Guptas’ ‘state capture’ to an affair and accusations of lying under oath, there is never a dull moment in the life of Mr and Mrs Gigabyte.

Have a look at some of their biggest controversies.

Cheating scandal

The biggest test of their marriage came shortly after they tied the knot. A few months after their December 2014 wedding, Norma received an email from her husband’s mistress, Buhle Mkhize. The New York-based stylist spilled the beans of their affair, which allegedly started before Malusi and Norma walked down the aisle. Buhle apparently had no idea the Home Affairs minister was a taken man and only found out on the day he got married.

The scandal reached a major climax when in 2015 Buhle penned an open letter revealing every detail of their affair. Despite the drama, Norma stood by her man, even going so far as to call Buhle a prostitute.

“This woman is obsessed with me. At some point she apologised, saying she didn’t mean what she said, but still continued. I did not tell her to sleep with my husband. Malusi admitted it and said it was a mistake. We are over it, but I will always call her a prostitute for demanding money,” Norma told the Sunday Tribune in 2016.

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Norma offers Home Affairs Department a helping hand

Norma’s boosting during a 2017 interview with eNCA caused another big headache for the family. The IT specialist talked about how she has dealt with “big tenders” and revealed that she gave her hubby some advice when he worked at Home Affairs.

“We did the transformation together of technology, because I wanted to help him, because I found that there were long queues at Home Affairs, and I know IT, and I know most of the time their system is very slow, so it helps him. For him to adapt to technology, it helps him, I was there,” she told the channel.

Her interview could not have come at a worse time as Malusi had just been named SA’s new Finance Minister. But the couple seemed unfazed by the drama and were pictured enjoying dinner at a fancy restaurant in Cape Town.

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R900k travel bill

Norma made headlines earlier this year when it was reported that taxpayers forked out almost R900 000 for her to accompany her husband during investor roadshows abroad after he became finance minister. The opposition was less than impressed, saying that while the Ministerial Handbook allowed spouses to travel with their partners, Malusi should have practiced what he preaches.

“The former Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, who regularly called for greater efficiency in the use of public funds, should have set an example when it came to belt-tightening in South Africa. The fact is, Norma Gigaba had no official duties on the investor roadshows, and taxpayers, who have been pushed to the limit by tax increases, should never have had to cough up for what were, in reality, a series of intercontinental shopping trips,” the DA told parliament.

Sex video

“Imagine this in your mouth” – this is one sentence no one expected to hear Malusi utter.

The minister was the talk of the town last month when a video surfaced of him performing a sex act on himself. Malusi claimed his phone was hacked and the tape was being used as blackmail.

But the biggest question on South Africans’ minds was whether Malusi had been caught cheating again. While many were convinced that the video was intended for a mistress, he was adamant it was made for his wife.

My wife and I have learned, with regret and sadness, that a video containing material of a sexual nature, meant for our eyes only, which was stolen when my communication got illegally intercepted/my phone got hacked, in 2016/17, is circulating among certain political figures…

— Malusi Gigaba (@mgigaba) October 28, 2018

Biggest test of all

The couple now face the biggest test of all. Malusi announced his resignation on Tuesday after a string of controversies, including a North Gauteng High Court ruling that he had lied under oath about the Fireblade Aviation debacle. He is also facing an inquiry relating to the naturalisation of several members of the Gupta family. Will Norma stick by her man yet again?

The last time she posted a picture of Malusi on Instagram was in August, when they celebrated their anniversary. Only time will tell whether these two will weather the latest storm.

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