Say what you want about Jacob Zuma, but you have to admit he’s not an easy man to poison. I’ve lost count of the number of times he’s claimed someone has poisoned him, or at least attempted to do so. There was the time in 2014, for instance, when there were accusations that his former wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, had poisoned him on behalf of foreign intelligence agencies. The usual suspects were named, if memory serves me. The CIA and MI6, I think, though not Smersh for some reason.

The Mercury reported in 2017 that Zuma told members of the ANC national executive committee that there had been three attempts to poison him. “I was poisoned and almost died just because South Africa joined Brics under my leadership; they said I was going to destroy the country,” he reportedly said. Well, they weren’t that far out on the destroying the country bit, whoever “they” might have been...

This article is free to read if you sign up or sign in.

If you have already registered or subscribed, please sign in to continue.



Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.