By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A daughter of South Africa’s former President Jacob Zuma has been inaugurated as a member of the country’s parliament, barely two weeks after her half-sister was forced to resign.
Brumelda Zuma took oath of office on Wednesday, representing her father’s opposition party, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK).
Her half-sister, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, resigned from parliament following allegations that she was involved in the recruitment of 17 men to fight for Russia as mercenaries in Ukraine, an allegation she denies.
Analysts say Brumelda Zuma’s appointment suggests that her father intends to ensure his family is represented in parliament.
She was sworn in alongside three other MK members, who, the party said, “bring a wealth of experience and dedication” to parliament.
She said she would focus mostly on ensuring that South Africans had “good public services” because “that is what I studied”.
MK said Brumelda Zuma had a degree in public administration.
Brumelda Zuma has no experience in holding public office, unlike her half-sister who had represented South Africa in the Pan-African Parliament.
MK previously said it was Zuma-Sambudla’s decision to resign as she wanted to focus her efforts on ensuring the return of those trapped in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region.
She was implicated in the Russia recruitment scheme after South Africa’s government revealed it had received distress calls from more than a dozen citizens who had joined mercenary forces.
The men are aged between 20 and 39 and are trapped in Donbas.
Zuma-Sambudla has said in an affidavit that she thought the men were going to Russia for “lawful” training.
She is also on trial on terrorism-related charges over social media messages she posted during deadly protests in 2021. She has denied the charges too.
