Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has identified Siphokazi Xuma as her father, former president Jacob Zuma’s partner, in a formal complaint calling for an investigation into concerns about his security and medical care.
In a letter addressed to Major General Wally Rhoode, Zuma-Sambudla raises allegations of possible collusion between members of her father’s Presidential Protection Unit (PPU), Xuma and certain senior uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party officials.
The letter explicitly refers to Xuma as her father’s partner while raising concerns about whether the doctors responsible for treating the former president are fully informed about medication and other substances he may be receiving.
“I respectfully request that the military/state medical doctors responsible for my father’s care meet directly with him and explain, in clear terms, the medical and safety implications of failing to disclose to his treating doctors any medication, treatment, injections, supplements or other substances being administered to him by persons around him, including his partner, Ms Siphokazi Xuma,” she wrote.
Zuma-Sambudla said her concerns were not intended to interfere with her father’s right to seek private medical treatment, but to ensure that his doctors could assess potential interactions, contraindications and other health risks.
The complaint also raises questions about the independence of her father’s protection detail, with Zuma-Sambudla alleging that some officers may have become involved in family disputes, political gossip and internal party conflicts.
“It has been brought to my attention that there may be improper relationships, collusion and alliances between certain members of the PPU, Ms Siphokazi Xuma, and certain National Officials of the MK Party,” she wrote.
She emphasised that these allegations needed to be independently investigated and verified.
Zuma-Sambudla further alleges that certain protection officers may be receiving kickbacks, inducements or other benefits from senior MK Party officials in exchange for favours, including influencing who is permitted to meet her father.
She also expressed concern about meetings allegedly being arranged at short notice, arguing that this could compromise security checks and advance assessments before the former president visits particular venues.
The letter questions who has authority to arrange or alter Jacob Zuma’s movements and meetings, what security procedures are required and whether individuals outside the security structure are improperly influencing operational decisions.
Zuma-Sambudla has called for an independent investigation into the conduct of the PPU and requested the replacement of certain officers whom she believes may have been compromised.
She warned that Rhoode’s office would be held accountable for the circumstances surrounding her father’s security and medical care should anything happen to him.
She said her primary concern was that individuals with political, financial or personal interests could be placing her father’s safety and wellbeing at risk.
Rhoode said this was an internal SAPS matter and declined to comment.