Zuma family needs to tackle MaNtuli scandal head-on

Reports earlier this week claim that President Jacob Zuma’s second wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli Zuma, popularly known as MaNtuli, has been accused of having an affair with her bodyguard.

In addition that members of Zuma’s family wrote a letter to Ilanga, a Zulu language newspaper, setting out details of the affair including allegations that the bodyguard, Phinda Thomo from Dobsonville, Soweto, committed suicide after it was discovered.

As a result questions were posed regarding the paternity of MaNtuli’s unborn child following confirmation of her pregnancy last week.

Of course the president is a polygamist, having been married five times, and there is enormous interest in his response to this role reversal where one of the wives may have taken up with another party.

Friday sees Zuma’s family vehemently denying that they were responsible for or the sources of the reports. In addition they call these reports a “continuation of the attack on the person of the president and his political career”.

To this extent Khulubuse Zuma, a spokesperson for the family, sent a statement to Sapa calling the reports shameful and saying people were masquerading as family to spread rumours.

MaNtuli is with the president on an official state visit to India.

As in the case of the previous Zuma sex scandal the Zuma family are in danger of allowing the sideshows and name-calling to build up until the whole issue simply explodes.

This time they need to focus on the questions, answer them and allow nature to take its course.

Without deviating from the issue, did Nompumelelo Ntuli Zuma have an affair with her bodyguard?

If yes, is it not then wise to have a paternity test in light of the president’s position and legacy?

How it got into the public domain is now irrelevant and the sooner the family face it head-on the sooner they can move on even if the media carry on debating the issue.

Continuing to refute the media and public’s right to know — which failed abysmally last time — will only create animosity and inflame the situation.

Deal with it head-on and move ahead.