STATEMENT BY THE ZUMA FAMILY ON MEDIA REPORTS ABOUT PRESIDENT JACOB ZUMA

The Zuma family has noted with grave concern on-going media reports about our father Mr. Jacob Zuma's personal life. As a family we have lived through years of unrelenting attacks on our father which have been played out and are still being played out  in the local media which is then invariably followed by the international media.

We have had to live with the attacks and the pain of the trumped-up corruption allegations and the attendant consequences of my father's removal from the office of Deputy President of South Africa in 2005, which was based on untested allegations and  unfounded rumours.

Following my father's removal from office, we as a family have seen him endure the humiliation of a rape trial as well that of a corruption trial. Before and during the course of the rape trial, my father was subjected to an intense trial by media and was found guilty regardless of the facts that were being presented in court. Even after the court found him not guilty, the media campaign and the trial by media continued unabated. This pattern of media attacks on the rape case persisted even during the 2009 general election campaign.

We have seen him being ostracized, vilified and lampooned in the most vicious manner. We have seen how his right to privacy was trampled upon and the injury to his dignity and person effected relentlessly.

Together with him, we managed to ride the waves of the most vicious storms and virulent attacks against our father and against our family name. Personally, I have had to deal with the most painful media reports and wild speculations about my mother's death. These have been done without any regard for our feelings and for the need for us to mourn her death in private.

The media has shown total disregard and lack of concern for the hurt caused to our immediate family and to the children. My younger brothers and sisters who are minors have been subjected to a great deal of trauma as a result of the allegations and reports by the media. I believe this is a clear violation of the Child Protection Act.

It has been most inhumane to be treated as mere objects of curiosity, sensational reports and headlines. It is for this reason that I have decided to make this statement to demonstrate to the world that Mr. Jacob Zuma's children are real people with feelings, emotions and personalities and not just faceless statistics.

Throughout this time we have remained silent as we saw him go through major trials and tribulations. We cannot remain silent any longer. We believe that the time has come for us to draw the line. As a family we remain united in the support of our father.  He is a loving father who cares for all his family. He lives his life transparently and is not ashamed of his culture and beliefs. He is a father who has never denied any of his children and cares for the welfare of his family and for that of millions of other children in South Africa.

As a citizen of South Africa, my father has the same right to privacy and to practice his culture as any other citizen. We as a family are content with the polygamous nature of our household. We are content to have twenty siblings or more. It is my father's right within the context of his culture to have as many children as he wishes. An impression has been created by the media that my father has twenty minor children. Nothing could be further from the truth. Many of us are adults who are quite capable of taking care of ourselves and our minor brothers and sisters.

We are a united family. We love our father and are  very proud of the loving, fair, just, principled and dignified manner in which he heads up our family. We have seen him remain calm, content and forgiving even during the most vicious storms.

My father has dedicated his whole life for the struggle and quest for a better South Africa. He works tirelessly and relentlessly for the prosperity and well being of all the people of South Africa. He has a strong passion for the welfare of all the people of South Africa regardless of race or creed, religion, cultural background or economic status. He is a champion for the poor, marginalized and downtrodden and has the zeal to better the lives of all South Africans.

As a family, we believe it is vital to judge my father on how he performs his duties and not on aspects of his private life which he lived openly and transparently long before he assumed any public office in this country. It is important to evaluate (criticize or appreciate), my father's performance as regards the socio-economic and political impact of his work as the head of state.

Issued by Duduzani Zuma on behalf of the family

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