Watch: Jacob Zuma opens up about alleged ‘assassination attempt’

Earlier this week, we were told to prepare for explosive revelations from both Duduzane and Jacob Zuma, as they plan to upload a series of Zoom conversations onto YouTube. The first part dropped on Wednesday, and we have not been left disappointed. Msholozi has revealed more details about an alleged assassination attempt against him.

Duduzane claims father’s illness ‘traumatised’ the family

According to Jacob Zuma’s son – who hosted the Zoom call – the former president had been poisoned with a lethal dosage, said to be four times higher than the potency needed to kill someone. Duduzane recalls the frantic trip to Moscow, and the ‘weakened state’ Zuma Snr found himself in.

“I remember waiting for your inauguration in 2014. Your staff didn’t want you to go through with it because you were so ill. But you decided to carry on with your duties and overcame it, but barely – you were in a weakened state. From here, we had suspected you were poisoned – your health deteriorated swiftly after this.”

“We went to Moscow to resolve the issue. It was traumatic for us all. It was definitely an attempt on your life, but it was brushed under the carpet. If I recall correctly, you were given four times the amount of toxic substances that were needed to kill someone.”

Duduzane Zuma

You can watch the full discussion between Duduzane and Jacob Zuma here:

Attempted assassination on Jacob Zuma – what is said to have happened?

Jacob Zuma elaborated on the toxic plot, which apparently took place in 2014. The ex-head of state suggests this wasn’t the only assassination attempt he’d faced, and blamed his stance on radical economic transformation – and his activities in the fight against apartheid – for why he was a wanted man:

“That was the toughest challenge I’ve ever faced. I was already getting information I was poisoned. I felt incredibly sick at the time, it was a different feeling. I knew that the poison wasn’t anything basic, it was something very sophisticated. Three dangerous substances were mixed together. I can’t believe I survived having them in my body.”

“The reason why people wanted to kill me at this time was partly due to my struggle achievements, and partly due to my beliefs on how the country should be run. My enemies wanted me dead. I was poisoned more than once. My enemies targeted me regularly. Even the doctors who cured me cannot believe that I wasn’t killed by the dosage of poison.”

Jacob Zuma on alleged assassination attempt

David Mabuza: Duduzane lifts lid on DD’s brush with death

Duduzane also went on to describe the night David Mabuza – the now deputy president of South Africa – turned to him when he was also poisoned by mysterious forces. The narrative sounds like a decent plot for a film, but according to DZ, he played in an integral role in keeping the ex-Mpumalanga premier alive:

• Duduzane says he received a call asking him for help when David Mabuza fell ill, in another suspected poisoning.
• An airlift from Nelspruit to OR Tambo – and passage on a private plane to Moscow – was requested.
• The ‘extraction’, as Zuma Jnr calls it, saw a storm knock the helicopter off-course, and the premier was transported to the private Fireblade terminal in Johannesburg.
• He could ‘barely walk’ on his own. The pilots allegedly expressed discomfort at the situation, and technical problems with the aircraft held the group up. Mabuza ‘had no medical clearance to fly’, the story goes.
• He was transported to hospital, on a drip and a ventilator, and Mabuza’s close aide apparently ‘planned for his death’.
• Mabuza made a recovery over the course of a few days. The story was kept secret for months to come.
• Interestingly enough, Duduzane Zuma went back to Russia with Tony Gupta to pick DD up from the care facility.
• And, in a strange turn of events, Zuma Jnr revealed that he and Mabuza are no longer on speaking terms.