A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma won’t be losing sleep over recent claims that she’s power-hungry for Cyril’s job

DONE and dusted. Over and out. Goodbye. When Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma lost the ANC leadership contest to Cyril Ramaphosa back in 2017 many people thought that was the end of the road for the politician.

But in a move that few anticipated, Ramaphosa invited former president Jacob Zuma’s ex-wife into his cabinet. And their relationship is now firmly in the spotlight after she seemingly contradicted a decision he’d made.

The president had announced the controversial lockdown ban on cigarette sales was being lifted.

But then Dlamini-Zuma, minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs, got behind the microphone a few days later. The cigarette ban was here to stay, she declared.

The unexpected move sparked all kinds of conspiracy theories. Speculation spread like wildfire that the minister, still smarting from her leadership contest defeat, was out to undermine the president.

But Ramaphosa was quick to point out that the about-turn decision was made collectively by the National Coronavirus Command Council and not by DlaminiZuma on her own.

However, it did little to stop other stories doing the rounds that suggested she was colluding with cigarette smugglers to keep legal ciggies off the shelves.

But it seems unlikely Dlamini-Zuma will be losing any sleep about the rumours or the viral videos that’ve mocked her. As she’s shown in the past, she’s one tough cookie.

A BORN FIGHTER

Dlamini-Zuma, the eldest of eight children, was raised in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and her teacher father, Willibrod Gweva Dlamini, made many sacrifices to ensure she and her siblings received a good education.