Zuma's late wife Kate was not my sister - Moyane

11 April 2016

Johannesburg - SA Revenue Service commissioner Tom Moyane on Monday sought to clarify speculation that President Jacob Zuma's late wife, Kate Mantsho, was his relative.

This was after Moyane referred to her in an interview with PowerFM as his "family sister".

Moyane told News24 on Monday that Mantsho was a family friend.

"She grew up with me in the same street, like in any township."If you grow up in Soweto your neighbour, and your other neighbours grow up together. Your families know each other. It does not necessarily mean she's my sister, but we grew up together, played together." He said speculation that he was a blood relative of Mantsho's was feeding into the "narrative that Zuma gave me a job because he married my sister".

Moyane said Mantsho was older than him, and he only found out she was married to Zuma when he bumped into her in Mozambique later on. Speaking to PowerFM's Andile Khumalo last week, Moyane was questioned about his relationship with Zuma.

In response, Moyane said he had a political relationship with the president which went back to 1976.

"I do have a relationship with the president, a relationship that is natural of all cadres of the ANC. He was the first to receive me in the People's Republic of Mozambique, as it was known then in 1976, November... and I worked under his leadership as he was the deputy chief representative of the African National Congress.

"The relationship was of political [nature], and at the same time he got married to my long-time old family sister, the late Kate..."

Moyane said his relationship with Zuma was more political and professional.

Last week, when announcing that Sars had managed to collect R1 trillion in tax payments for the first time in South Africa’s history, Moyane lashed out at his detractors saying he had proven wrong all those who doubted his character.

"To the naysayers and doomsday prophets who distract our attention to the mandate of Sars to effectively and efficiently collect all revenue due to the fiscus, today we have closed that chapter," he said.

"Aspersions were cast on my character. I was called an incompetent, incapable, inept leader of this important institution. My personal integrity was questioned in this hallowed and scared environment were we dare to tread, how sacrilegious it is that an urban African can not only overcome socio-historical prejudice but set the bar so high for his employees that he best believes?"

In March, it was announced that Zuma was personally dealing with the alleged tensions between Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and Moyane.Gordhan reportedly wanted Zuma to fire Moyane due to a breakdown in their working relationship, while the Hawks investigation into the so-called "rogue unit" at Sars had been criticised for interfering with the minister ahead of his budget address in February.

This article first appeared on News24, see here.