Durban - Edward Zuma, on behalf of the Zuma family, has issued a response to what it calls "regrettable tweets" made by Thobeka Madiba-Zuma, one of president Jacob Zuma’s wives.
On Friday, Madiba-Zuma posted a photo of herself and the president on Instagram, saying, in isiZulu, “It’s going get rough, don’t fight with someone who is not fighting you”.
A post shared by TMZF Founder & Patron(@firstladytzuma) on Feb 9, 2018 at 2:41am PST
The post comes as the president is facing increased pressure within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to step aside as head of state.
Read more: First Lady defends Zuma
Edward Zuma, the president’s oldest son, said via a text message on Friday evening:
“Over the past few hours, we have been inundated with calls from members of the public following tweets from an account purportedly belonging to the firstladyzuma.
“In the main tweet there is a photo of the President of the Republic Jacob Zuma and First Lady Thobeka Madiba-Zuma.
“Though we have sanctioned an investigation around this matter, we want to state categorically that such tweets are unfortunate and regrettable.”
Edward Zuma said that “no amount of words” could express the family’s disappointment, which is why they decided to issue the apology.
“As the family, our position is that the Office of the First Lady should be at the forefront of all efforts aimed at uniting the people of this country behind a goal of creating a prosperous country for women and children.
“Central to all activities of the Office of the First Lady should be the mobilization of leaders of society, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and the public at large across all leadership preferences and political lines for the attainment of this prosperity.
“Finally, as the family we remain committed towards the project of Nation Building. In this regard, we want to express our confidence in the leadership elected to ensure that the ANC remains a vehicle to build this nation,” said Zuma.