Durban — She was once a powerful politician in eThekwini, but now her future looks bleak as she battles a case that has left her political and private life in tatters.
Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Monday over the graft charges relating to the controversial Durban Solid Waste tender amounting to R320 million.
In a candid interview with the Daily News after the court proceedings, Gumede said the long-running corruption, fraud and money laundering case had led to her ailing health deteriorating further.
“I’ve been persecuted for years on end, but the State still doesn’t have a case against me. This case has led to my health getting worse as I suffer from diabetes. I have suffered enough. I don’t know when this case will end,” said Gumede.
Her family were not spared the harsh implications the case has had for her life, said Gumede.
“Most painful to me is to see my children and grandchildren suffering. I am using my pension money to pay for the hefty legal fees for this case. The implication is that I am struggling to support my family,” she said.
Gumede, who lives in Inanda, north of Durban, has repeatedly maintained her innocence, claiming that the dark cloud of charges hovering over her head has crippled her political ambitions.
“I can’t do anything now with my political career because I have a dark cloud above. Everywhere I go, I am seen as someone who stole money that belongs to the State, which is not factual.”
As Gumede fights for personal survival, her political career is also hanging by a thread.
“If I can’t take any positions, whether in government or my party, the ANC, this means my children will starve. This is unacceptable and is wrong,” she said angrily.
Gumede was re-elected as the chairperson of the ANC in the eThekwini region in 2022 but was summarily placed on ‘step aside’ amid the charges she faced.
Asked whether she thought the charges against her were politically motivated, she was evasive: “I don’t want to draw any conclusions at this stage. I have reservations. But I don’t want to make any conclusions just yet until I have dealt with this matter.”
She would not be drawn into commenting on how she would possibly revive her dwindling political career.
“I don’t want to talk about it now because my enemies will pick it up and use it against me,” she said.
Gumede was among the first ANC bigwigs to be affected by the step-aside policy, adopted by the party’s highest decision-making body, the National Executive Committee, in 2017, but it came into the bright public spotlight in 2022 when its wheel started turning against senior party leaders.
Gumede was charged in 2019 alongside 21 co-accused, including the erstwhile city manager, Sipho Nzuza.
The charges led to her fall as mayor of eThekwini, the only metro in KZN, with her becoming the woman to lead it as mayor, signalling the massive political power she once enjoyed in her home region of eThekwini.
Reflecting on this, she said: “I have not stolen a cent from taxpayers during my time as mayor. My hands are clean. The State has failed to prove any link on my part to any wrongdoing.”
Recently, she came out guns blazing, refuting claims that the Asset Forfeiture Unit had supposedly attached property, including lavish cars that belonged to her.
She was supported in court by a handful of supporters.
In court, Gumede was seated alongside her co-accused as the State called a witness who testified about, among other things, the government supply chain processes.
The matter will be in court until the end of August.
The State has maintained that it has a strong case against the accused despite previously asking for a series of postponements.
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Daily News