Cape Town – Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of Jacob Zuma, has faced criticism for her inability to speak isiZulu, her father’s native language.
In a viral video, she apologised to MK Party supporters in KwaZulu-Natal for addressing them in English, attributing her lack of fluency in isiZulu to apartheid, which prevented her from learning her mother tongue.
“I am sorry, I can’t speak isiZulu. I am a victim of apartheid, so this is one of the things that happens. We don’t get to grow up in South Africa and learn our mother tongue, but I’m trying; I’m learning,” Zuma-Sambudla said.
Born and raised in Mozambique, where she was taught in Portuguese, Zuma-Sambudla has lived in South Africa for over 25 years but has struggled to learn isiZulu.
Social media users criticised her, citing examples of non-South Africans who have quickly learned local languages, like American Elizabeth Matlou, who recently spoke fluent Sepedi at her wedding.
A is Chris Pappas, a white man and he can speak isiZulu very fluently.
B is Duduzile Zuma, a black woman and a daughter of a former president. She can’t speak isiZulu blaming it on the apartheid system that ended 30 years ago.
A B pic.twitter.com/93l3sMZlZZ
— TakaSyo (@bigkoostar) October 8, 2024
Apartheid ended when Ms. Duduzile Zuma was 12 years old. Today, she is 42 years old yet but she can’t speak IsiZulu and she is blaming Apartheid😂😂😂😂😂. https://t.co/RO9k73cvEt
— Mlungisi Ntshangase (@Mlu__N7) October 7, 2024
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
