Muziwendoda Sikhona Kunene’s rise to fame has been marked by controversy. Until December 1, when police arrested him in connection with the so-called “hoax e-mail” saga that has divided the African National Congress, little was known about the Durban based IT executive.
Born in Soweto in the 1960s, Kunene’s rise to the world of business had unlikely beginnings: as a man of God. The high-flying businessman is a former missionary from the rural hinterland of Kranskop, about 120km north of Durban, and spent more than 10 years preaching the word of God before he took interest in business.
Those who know Kunene have described him as a hard worker, very intelligent, eloquent and a pleasant person to work with.
“He always left the impression that he was very bright. He often was a very capable translator at the mission,” said pastor Kjell Olsen who worked with Kunene for more than 10 years.
Colin Mitchell, one of the prominent business people in KwaZulu- Natal who worked with Kunene on local economic development issues, said he was surprised to learn that Kunene was allegedly involved in the manufacturing of the e-mails. “I always knew that he is influential, but not a political animal,” said Mitchell
Kunene holds a diploma in marketing management and a diploma in IT and is believed to have worked in both Germany and France.
For the past five years, Kunene, who is described as a well-connected man in South African politics, was involved in consulting work in the restructuring of the KwaZulu-Natal premier’s office and the department of transport.
Kunene, who has business ties with African National Congress secretary general Kgalema Motlanthe through black economic empowerment company Pamodzi, is suspected by authorities to have manufactured the widely publicised e-mails implicating senior ANC and government officials.
Intelligence Inspector General Zolile Ngcakani is investigating the origins of the e-mails.
According to the Sunday Times, preliminary investigations have found 73 pages of the originals of the e-mails on computer hard drives at Kunene’s house in Randburg. While the inspector general’s office has confirmed it is investigating a case of impersonation and subversion against Kunene, Motlanthe’s involvement is not clear.
A source within the inspector gene-ral’s office told the Mail & Guardian this week that neither the office nor the police was investigating Motlanthe. “He is not part of our investigation and we do not think is worthwhile questioning him about the e-mails. He does not seem to add any value to our investigation. All those who are under investigation are informed. There was never a suggestion that we are investigating Motlanthe,” the source said.
According to the source, the only link between Kunene and Motlanthe is the fact that they both hold shares in Pamodzi. “But this is not good enough to link Motlanthe to our investigations.”
It is believed that after he was arrested on December 1, Kunene called Motlanthe, among other -people, to arrange a lawyer for him. Motlanthe would neither confirm nor deny this when contacted by the M&G this week.
However, he acknowledged that he knew Kunene. Asked about his business ties with Kunene, Motlanthe said: “I am not a businessman. I do invest a little money that I saved in various companies. I just invest my savings. If I invest money in Standard Bank, I am not in business with whoever invests their money there.”
Meanwhile, Kunene’s court application to have his arrest set aside was postponed by the Pretoria High Court until March next year. He is out on bail.
In its December 2 edition, the Mail & Guardian reported that former deputy president Jacob Zuma met senior members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party at his Nkandla residence in KwaZulu-Natal on November 27.
This week, Zuma released a statement denying any “confessions” had been made to the union and communist leaders, adding that two of the three leaders had never been to Nkandla.
The M&G based its original report on a senior, well-placed source, and attempted to cross-check it before publication. Our judgement was that, given the source’s seniority and history with the newspaper, the information provided was reliable.
Through its own further inquiries, the M&G now believes that the date and venue of the meeting were not accurately reported. We apologise for the inaccuracy and will in future check all details with at least three sources before printing.
However, the M&G stands by the essence of its report — that unionists and the SACP leadership were briefed and that Zuma said he had had consensual sex with the alleged rape victim.
Apology
The South African Communist Party’s general secretary Blade Nzimande has pointed out that he was not at an Nkandla meeting with former deputy president Jacob Zuma on November 27 2005. He was in Johannesburg at a SACP central committee meeting in the day and then attended a function at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in the evening.
The M&G apologises to Nzimande for the article “There was sex but no rape, Zuma tells unionists”, which stated that he was at Nkandla on November 27 where the former deputy president took him into confidence. Nzimande has also objected to the “Editor’s Note” of December 9 (“All sound, no fury”) for implying that he lied. No such implication was intended. The M&G has put in place steps to ensure that its reporting of facts like venues and dates are accurate and that its reporting of the succession battle is watertight.