The wife of former president Jacob Zuma, Nompumelelo Ntuli Zuma has been carrying an “Emotional trauma” since 2015 after she was accused of plotting to kill her husband. These claims were made by Ntuli-Zuma’s legal representative attorney Ulrich Roux through a letter sent last week to the head of National Prosecuting Authority‘s (NPA), Shamila Batohi.
Roux complained that no step had been taken towards a matter which has been “hanging over my client’s head since 2015” and he required an “urgent” response
“The SAPS and the NPA have seemingly made no progress pertaining to any further investigation being conducted herein and whether there is merit or substance in the allegations levelled against my client,” the letter read.
NPA spokesperson, Luvuyo Mfaku, said: “We can confirm receipt of representations from Mr. Roux in respect of the matter, but we cannot comment further.”
In June 2015, Ntuli Zuma aka MaNtuli was examined by Hawks investigators as a suspect alleged to kill Zuma. This was after the first lady was ordered to move out of Zuma’s homestead in Nkandla by the former minister of state security David Mahlobo. She was given these instructions on January 4, 2015.
According to Roux, Mahlobo instructions to Ntuli were related to the allegations that she was involved or had knowledge of a plot to poison her husband
“My client has, from the outset, made it clear that she is not aware of, nor was she in any way involved in an alleged conspiracy to murder Jacob Zuma. This still remains her position,” Roux maintained.
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Roux added that in 2015, he and his client attended a question and answer session in Hawks office in KZN conducted by the investigating officer and after which they deposed an affidavit under oath.
Again in October 2016, former NDPP Shaun Abrahams had confirmed in a letter that Ntuli was a suspect in the matter, Roux said
When Roux wanted to know the progress of the case through a series of letters sent to Abrahams, he said that he was told that the head of the NPA’s Priority Crimes Litigation Unit, Dr. Torrie Pretorius, was overseeing the matter.
Roux added that even after sending many emails correspondences to Pretorius’s office, he is “yet to receive any meaningful feedback”.
He added that the wait for a response has been “a big burden on my client’s shoulders to carry around. She wants the matter to be finalised so that she can carry on with her life. It has been emotionally traumatic for her”.
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About the allegations made against Ntuli-Zuma, Roux said that “She has no knowledge of any conspiracy and has not been involved in anything untoward or illegal.
“She has no proof of any allegations being concocted and is not going to speculate about this. If there is sufficient evidence with which to charge her and bring the matter before the court we urge the NPA to do so. In four years they have not been able to do so and there is accordingly no grounds to do so, in our opinion.”
Our next step will be to approach the High court for relief if the NPA fails to address my latest letter, Roux said.
Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi refused to comment about the state of their investigations.
“Despite the letter sent to the NPA, we don’t discuss investigations in the media space. The NDPP (National Director of Public Prosecutions Batohi) and the Hawks heads will discuss the way forward in the matter,” Mulaudzi said.
