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Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, commonly known as Jacob Zuma, served as President of South Africa from 2009 until his resignation in 2018.
He is a famous politician, businessman and former President of South Africa.
Born in Nkandla, South Africa, on 12 April 1942, Jacob Zuma joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1959.
After serving a prison sentence for involvement with a militant group, he headed the party and became president in 2007, two years before he was elected president of South Africa.
A controversial politician, Jacob Zuma has been involved in several legal scandals involving corruption and extortion.
He was also a polygamist with 20 children. Following attempts by the ANC to remove him from power, Jacob Zuma announced his resignation as president in February 2018.
South African politician
Jacob Zuma |
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 Jacob Zuma: History, Biography, Photos |
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| First and last name: | Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma |
| Stage Name: | Jacob Zuma |
| Born: | April 12, 1942 (age 82) |
| Place of birth: | Nkandla, South Africa |
| Nationality: | South Africa |
| Parents: | Nobhekisisa Zuma, Geinamazwi Zuma |
| Children: | Duduzane Zuma, Mxolisi Zuma, Duduzile Zuma, Edward Zuma, Thuthukile Zuma, Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube, Msholozi Zuma, Thandekile Matina Zuma, Phumzile Zuma, Sinqumo Zuma, Nhlakanipho Vusi Zuma, Thandisiwe Zuma, Manqoba Kholwani Zuma, Sinqobile Zuma, Thuli Zuma |
| Height: | 1.68 meters |
| Siblings: | Michael Zuma, Muthukabongwa Zuma, Joseph Zuma |
| Spouse • Wife: | Gloria Bongekile Ngema (m. 2012), Thobeka Stacy Mabhija (m. 2010), Nompumelelo Ntuli (m. 2008), Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma (m. 1982–1998), Kate Mantsho (m. 1976–2000), Gertrude Sizakele Khumalo (m. 1973), Nonkanyiso Conco (m. 2018) |
| Job: | Politician • Businessman |
| Wage: | Do not have |
| Net asset value: | $20,000,000 |
Early life
Born on 12 April 1942 in Nkandla, a part of South Africa known as KwaZulu Natal (formerly Zululand), Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is a controversial figure in South African politics.
He lost his father, a policeman, when he was only 4 years old and had to help support the family after his father’s death.
He did many odd jobs to earn money while his mother worked as a maid.
Because he had no time to go to school, he taught himself to read and write.
Under the influence of a unionist family member, Jacob Zuma joined the ANC, a political party that opposed the country’s apartheid and other discriminatory policies in the late 1950s.
Additionally, the government had banned the ANC and other opposition groups at this time, so Jacob Zuma had to keep his membership secret.
Career
Ordered to operate underground, the ANC, long a non-violent group, developed a militant group in the early 1960s. Called Umkhonto we Sizwe, this new militant group carried out acts of sabotage against the government.
Jacob Zuma joined the group in 1962 and was arrested the following year along with 45 other members and soon convicted of conspiracy. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, he served his sentence at the infamous Robben Island prison, where Nelson Mandela was also held for many years.
After his release in 1973, Jacob Zuma continued to work for the ANC and played a key role in building the underground infrastructure of the organization in KwaZulu Natal.
Two years later, he was exiled and lived in various African countries. He remained loyal to the ANC and joined its National Executive Committee in 1977. Holding various positions within the ANC over the next decade, he was honest, steadfast and hard-working.
After the ANC was unbanned in 1990, Jacob Zuma returned to South Africa. He helped the party negotiate with the current government led by FW de Klerk over political prisoners and the return of exiles. In his native KwaZulu Natal, Jacob Zuma also worked to end the violence there.
Despite his unsuccessful 1994 campaign to become premier of that province, Jacob Zuma is credited with establishing lasting peace in the region and became a member of the provincial economic affairs and tourism executive committee that year. In his political party, he won the position of national president of the ANC and the position of party president for KwaZulu Natal.
Rape and Corruption
Following his political career, Jacob Zuma was appointed executive deputy president of South Africa by Thabo Mbeki in 1999, after Thabo Mbeki won the presidency. As part of his vision for the country, Thabo Mbeki established a special unit—informally known as the “Scorpions”—to investigate corruption.
Later that year, the South African government announced that it had reached a deal to buy 29 million rands worth of strategic weapons—planes, boats, helicopters, and submarines. The deal haunted and scared Jacob Zuma for years.
He and other members of the government were questioned when financial irregularities were discovered. Initially cleared in the 2001 report, Jacob Zuma faced corruption charges, although those charges were dropped in 2003.
Jacob Zuma’s legal troubles began in 2005 after his financial adviser, Shabir Shaik, was arrested on corruption and fraud charges.
He was again charged with corruption for accepting bribes in connection with a 1999 arms deal. As a result, he was sacked by President Thabo Mbeki.
In December 2005, Jacob Zuma was charged with raping a woman at his home. He was not convicted. He appeared in court in Johannesburg for several months in early 2006.
During the trial, Jacob Zuma was criticized for his lack of understanding of the transmission of HIV/AIDS. His accuser was HIV positive, and Jacob Zuma said they had unprotected sex and that he showered after sex to avoid contracting the virus.
This was big news for a country struggling with an HIV/AIDS epidemic. Jacob Zuma was acquitted in May after a judge ruled that the sex was consensual.
In late 2006, the corruption charges against Jacob Zuma were dismissed by a judge. However, the door was still open for future charges against him. Without a legal challenge, Jacob Zuma soon campaigned for the presidency of the ANC.
He fought his old friend and president Thabo Mbeki for control of their political party. Thabo Mbeki was a moderate politician who had steadily grown the country’s economy, one of the strongest in Africa, although some saw him as aloof and out of touch with the people.
South African leaders
In contrast to Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma positioned himself as a man of the people, his triumph over early struggles making him an appealing figure to many South Africans. He also used his history as a guerrilla fighter to portray himself as a man of action, adopting the song “Bring Me My Machine Gun” as his anthem.
When Jacob Zuma defeated Thabo Mbeki in December 2007, it was seen as a sign of impending change for South Africa. Heavily supported by the unions and some Communist Party officials, he was seen as potentially moving to the left from Thabo Mbeki’s centrist positions, according to a report in the Pretoria News. This created some concern about the country’s economic future.
In 2009, Jacob Zuma was elected president of South Africa, defeating Kgalema Motlanthe, his deputy president. He was re-elected in 2014, despite widespread criticism that his administration had failed to improve the country’s economy or effectively fight corruption.
Resignation
On 14 February 2018, Jacob Zuma announced that he would resign as President of South Africa. The announcement came after the ANC called for a vote of no confidence in the president and publicly demanded his resignation.
“The country should not lose a single life because of me, nor should the ANC ever be divided because of me,” he said in a nationally televised political address. “I have therefore decided to resign as president of the republic with immediate effect.”
The ANC has been trying to oust Jacob Zuma for months. In December 2017, the party elected former union leader Cyril Ramaphosa as its new president, although Jacob Zuma later ruled out forcing ANC members to quietly resign.
Education
Jacob Zuma is one of Africa’s least educated leaders.
He taught himself to read and write.
Personal life
Jacob Zuma is a Zulu polygamist who has been married seven times. He married his first wife, Gertrude Sizakele Khumalo, in 1993. She did not bear him any children.
He later married Nkosazana Dlamini, but they divorced in June 1998.
His third wife, Kate Mantsho, committed suicide in December 2000. She left behind five children.
In January 2008, he married Nompumelelo. Two years later, he married Theobeka Stacie Madiba.
On 20 April 2012, he married Gloria Bongekile Ngema.
In October 2018, he married his seventh wife, Nonkanyiso Conco.
Awards and honors
- Nelson Mandela Award for Outstanding Leadership in the College of Medicine of South Africa, 1998.
- Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in the United Kingdom, 2010.
- Imo Merit Award, October 2017.
- University of Zululand, Honorary Doctorate in Management 2001.
- University of Fort Hare, Honorary Doctorate in Literature/Letters, 2001.
- University of South Africa Medical School 2001, Honorary Doctor of Philosophy.
- University of Zambia, Great East Campus 2009, Honorary Doctor of Laws.
Children
Jacob Zuma has 23 children, namely;
- Duduzane Zuma
- Mxolisi Zuma
- Duduzile Zuma
- Edward Zuma
- Thuthukile Zuma
- Gugulethu Zuma-Ncube
- Msholozi Zuma
- Thanks Matina Zuma
- Phumzile Zuma
- Sinqumo Zuma
- President Vusi Zuma
- Thandisiwe Zuma
- Manqoba Kholwani Zuma
- Zuma
- Thuli Zuma
Net asset value
Despite having to resign due to too many accusations, Jacob Zuma still has a fairly high salary.
As one of the highest paid and most assertive politicians in South Africa, Jacob Zuma has amassed an estimated net worth of $20 million.
Social Media
The former South African President is also on social media. You can reach Jacob Zuma on Instagram using @presjgzuma.
