Just two years ago, Duduzile Zuma, daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, was at home, focusing on her children and life as a housewife. But things changed quickly when she joined her father’s new political movement, the uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party. Now, she serves in both the National Assembly and the Pan-African Parliament.
“It was a 360 turn,” she said about the transition.
“My kids don’t see me every day like they used to and for me, personally, it has been a big shift in my life and in my career. It is something I’m still learning and overwhelmed by. But happy to be here and part of the change the country and the world needs.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ED_497285.jpg "Former SA president Jacob Zuma and his daughter Duduzile Zuma. (Photo: Gallo Images / Darren Stewart).")
The 42-year-old Duduzile is open about her journey and what she hopes her legacy will be beyond her father.
“I’m still building that, but for now, it’s just following what the president has built. I mean why reinvent a wall when he’s built something so great?”
Many MK party supporters have argued that economic conditions were far better during the Zuma presidency – citing affordability, unemployment and service delivery. Duduzile echoed similar sentiments and said MK’s leadership would focus on doing the same work Zuma did in his nine-year tenure.
Zuma’s time in office, however, starting in 2009, coincided with the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis. Before he took power, South Africa’s economy was growing at 5.4% in 2007. Under Zuma’s presidency, from 2009 to 2017, growth dropped to around 1.5% a year.
Almost R50-billion in government contracts was linked to the Gupta family in State Capture deals during Zuma’s term, while the total cost to the economy was estimated to be far higher. The country is still paying the price.
When Zuma took power in 2009, the number of service delivery protests as measured by Municipal IQ stood at 106 per year. By 2018, this had more than doubled to 237 per year.
Read more: Fact check — Was Jacob Zuma’s presidency one of ‘9 amazing years’ as his daughter claims?
Entering the political fray
Before she turned to politics, Duduzile was unimpressed with how her father had been “mistreated”. So she took it upon herself to defend him against his detractors, at least on social media. She would often tweet “Wenzen’ uZuma?”, loosely translated to, “What has Zuma done?”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ED_510429.jpg "Duduzile Zuma at the swearing-in ceremony of MK Party members at Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town on 25 June 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)")
In 2021, following Zuma’s arrest for contempt of court after he failed to appear in front of the State Capture inquiry, Duduzile took to social media to post a number of tweets, which were said to have encouraged and incited the violence and looting that destabilised KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
More than 350 people died and the damage caused an estimated R50-billion blow to the country’s economy. On social media, Duduzile had tweeted, “Let it burn”.
Read more: Dear Duduzile Zuma, do you understand the horror that your call for ‘another unrest’ will wreak?
In December of 2022, Duduzile and her father made a dramatic entrance at the ANC’s elective conference while President Cyril Ramaphosa was giving a speech. Zuma entered the plenary as a branch delegate, and his appearance immediately drew attention. While some supported his presence, others strongly criticised it.
Some of the delegates were chanting “Wenzeni uZuma”.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ED_540323.jpg "Duduzile Zuma at the uMkhonto WeSizwe party first-anniversary rally At Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban on 15 December 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Elias Mbuwane)")
This week, she received a warm welcome from thousands of MK supporters who attended the party’s first-anniversary rally at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
A smiling Duduzile hugged some supporters, blew kisses to others while screaming, “We did it guys, we did it!”
Some view her as a leader in the making, capable of influencing the selection of party leaders, while others see her simply as the president’s daughter, with no more significance than that.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/ED_507277.jpg "Duduzile Zuma at the National Result Operation Centre at Gallagher Estate in Midrand on 30 May 2024, after the national elections. (Photo: Gallo Images / Lefty Shivambu)")
She said the highlight of her political career was after the 29 May elections, which she described as historic when the party won more than four million votes, officially making it the third-biggest party in the country and official opposition party after the DA joined the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Reflecting on the MK party’s first year, she said, “It has been nothing short of amazing, it’s been historical. It’s been overwhelming, humbling as well.”
‘Still learning’
Duduzile was born and raised in Mozambique, where she and her twin brother, Duduzane Zuma, spent their early years speaking English and Portuguese while her family was in exile.
Despite being in South Africa for more than 25 years, Duduzile has been criticised for not speaking her father’s language, particularly as the MK party has a large following in KwaZulu-Natal where most people speak isiZulu.
Days before the elections in May, Duduzile came under fire for addressing party supporters in Wentworth, KwaZulu-Natal, in English when she was assisted by an isiZulu translator.
Asked about this, she said, “I am still learning.”
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/000033880.jpg "Duduzile and Jacob Zuma. (Photo: Gallo Images / Media 24)")
In its year of existence, the MK party has had a lot of trials and tribulations, which she would not be drawn into speaking about in detail.
Read more: MK supporters feel let down as problems persist and party’s May poll momentum stalls
“There have been challenges here and there, but I mean we just managed to get over them, which is good. I mean we have a great leader. President Zuma guides us well, we manage to get through,” she said.
On being a part of the Pan-African Parliament, Duduzile said she was excited at the prospect of leading and making an impact in the African body, but she has become concerned about division across the continent.
“It hasn’t been nice. It’s been hurtful to see that Africans cannot unite. I think part of what MK wants to do in the continent is to see what we can learn and do what president Zuma did before to unite the continent again,” she claimed.
‘Blessing and a curse’
Duduzile believes South Africans and the media in particular are hostile to her and often paint her with the same brush as Zuma. She said she takes solace in that Zuma is loved outside the country.
“I always call it a blessing and curse being Zuma’s daughter – but one thing I can tell you, or what I have learnt in the short time, is that especially going to Africa and internationally, is that president Zuma is loved. I think South Africans really don’t appreciate him enough but I see how the world appreciates him, and that makes me happy,” she said.
Read more: Jacob Zuma: Legacy of a tainted president
Duduzile doesn’t believe she has it easy by virtue of being Zuma’s daughter.
“Not at all, when I talk about the love the world has for him, they accept and receive me with warmth and love which is nice. South Africa is very hostile, you know, but everywhere else I am received very well,” she said.
“I think because it is the media and people who want to do the comparisons, putting me in his shoes, whatever.”
Asked about her political aspirations, Duduzile spoke about empowering women.
“I would also like to push for women. I was invited to Nigeria where they were talking about trying to amend the constitution to allow more women to participate in politics. It is a worldly problem.
“That’s what basically I want to do – make sure that women are recognised and not magnified in the sense of they want to talk about our bodies. So they must just focus on the message we are delivering,” she said.
Beyond politics, Duduzile is passionate about her kids and family. “I am a very simple person,” she said.
On where to for the party, ahead of the 2026 local and 2029 national elections, Duduzile responded, “to the world, to government, to leading”. DM