Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has asked the head of the Presidential Protection Service to investigate alleged corruption, collusion between security personnel and MK Party officials, and possible interference in the medical care of her father, former president Jacob Zuma.
In a seven-page letter dated 8 September, Zuma-Sambudla warned Major General Wally Rhoode that she would hold his office accountable if anything happened to her father. She raised concerns about the adequacy, independence and integrity of parts of Zuma’s security arrangements and medical oversight.
The allegations contained in the letter have not been independently proven. The South African Police Service has not commented on the details of the complaint, saying it does not discuss security matters involving sitting or former heads of state.
The letter emerged as Zuma, 84, was receiving treatment at a private hospital in Pietermaritzburg after reportedly falling ill during a campaign event in Msinga. His hospitalisation has prompted conflicting public accounts about his health, with the MK Party describing him as healthy and in good spirits while a family member said his condition was “not looking good”.
The Presidency later confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa had assigned the South African National Defence Force surgeon-general to oversee Zuma’s treatment. The Presidency said details of his medical condition could only be released by his medical team with his consent.
Concerns about medical treatment
Zuma-Sambudla said she was concerned that medical professionals responsible for her father’s care might not always know about treatments or medication being administered outside their supervision.
“I am particularly concerned about circumstances in which civilians or individuals who are not part of his established medical team may recommend or facilitate consultations with doctors who are unknown to the medical team responsible for his care.”
She asked that military or state doctors responsible for Zuma’s care meet with him and explain the risks of failing to disclose medication, treatment, injections or supplements being administered by people around him, including Siphokazi Xuma, a member of the Presidential Protection Service.
Zuma-Sambudla warned that any death would require a full investigation into her father’s security and medical care.
“If anything happens to my father, I will, unfortunately, have to hold your office accountable to the circumstances leading to thereof, including expecting a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his security and medical care that would have led to a fatal outcome or end his life,” she wrote.
She said she would also seek a post-mortem examination where legally applicable and expected answers about the advice provided to Zuma, the information known to his treating doctors, any medication or substances administered to him, identified risks and the maintenance of medical records.
The letter does not establish that Zuma received unsafe treatment or that any medical professional acted improperly. It records Zuma-Sambudla’s concerns and her request for an investigation.
Allegations about security detail
Zuma-Sambudla also alleged that some members of her father’s security detail had become too involved in his personal and political affairs.
“I have concerns that members of the security detail have become involved in family gossip, political gossip and internal party disputes, and that some may have aligned themselves with particular individuals or factions around my father.”
She said members of the security team should remain professional, impartial and focused on protecting their client. She expressed concern that security personnel could be influencing who was allowed to meet Zuma or becoming involved in rival interests around him.
“It is deeply concerning if members of such a detail are perceived to be participating in political factions, influencing access to the president, or becoming part of competing interests surrounding him.”
Zuma-Sambudla alleged that she had been informed of possible improper relationships, collusion and alliances between a national MK Party office-bearer and Xuma. She asked police to investigate the alleged relationship, but did not identify the party official in the letter.
“There were also allegations that certain PPU members may receive kickbacks, inducements or other benefits from national office bearers within the MK Party leadership in return for performing favours, including influencing who is permitted to meet with president Zuma and who is prevented from doing so,” she wrote.
She further alleged that some people were denied access to Zuma because they were not part of a particular group or network.
“This is deeply concerning.”
No evidence supporting the alleged kickbacks, inducements or improper relationships was provided in the material available for this report. The SAPS has not confirmed that an investigation has found corruption within Zuma’s security detail.
Questions about movements and meetings
The letter also raised concerns about how Zuma’s meetings and movements were arranged. Zuma-Sambudla alleged that Xuma sometimes determined or confirmed meetings at short notice.
“This creates a potentially serious security vulnerability.”
She said Zuma should not be taken to an unfamiliar venue at short notice without enough time for security teams to conduct the appropriate checks.
“I am therefore asking Major General Wally Rhoode to urgently re-establish who has authority to arrange or alter president Zuma’s movements and meetings. How advance notice is ordinarily provided to the PPU, what minimum security procedures are required before the president attends a venue, whether those procedures are being followed consistently, who is authorised to override or alter established security arrangements, and whether any persons outside the security structure are improperly influencing operational security decisions.”
She called for certain members of the security detail to be redeployed and said she feared that people around her father might be trying to control access to him, influence his movements or shape the information reaching him.
She stressed that she was not requesting special treatment for Zuma, but wanted proper security procedures to be applied.
“My greatest concern is that individuals with their own political, financial or personal agendas may be placing my father’s safety and well-being at risk while presenting themselves as acting in his interests.”
She added that the letter should not be interpreted as a threat.
“Please do not take the above as a threat, but rather a respectful request for your intervention into the shenanigans that are permeating themselves into potential dire consequences in my father’s life should they be left in their current detrimental form and not vigorously addressed.”
Conflicting accounts of Zuma’s health
The complaint was written before Zuma was admitted to hospital on 6 October after reportedly becoming ill during a campaign event in Msinga.
MK Party spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu previously described Zuma as “as fit as a fiddle” and “healthy and in good spirits”, saying the hospitalisation was part of a routine medical check-up conducted twice a year.
However, Zuma’s brother Khanya later said: “It’s not looking good.”
The Presidency subsequently said Ramaphosa had assigned the SANDF surgeon-general to oversee Zuma’s treatment and urged the public to respect his medical privacy. It said only Zuma’s medical team could disclose details of his condition and only with his consent.
The Zuma family ruled out transferring him to a military hospital and insisted that he be treated in KwaZulu-Natal. Reports that he had moved from intensive care to high care had not been officially confirmed by his medical team.
The conflicting accounts have intensified attention on the concerns raised in Zuma-Sambudla’s letter, but they do not establish that the former president’s treatment was compromised or that his security detail interfered with medical decisions.
Political tensions within MK Party
The letter was written against the backdrop of tension within the MK Party and a breakdown in the relationship between Zuma-Sambudla and her father’s political circle. The complaint indicated that she believed she had been denied access to Zuma after disagreements inside the party.
Zuma-Sambudla resigned as an MK Party MP in November 2025 after a human-trafficking complaint was laid against her and was expelled from the party in June. Those events provide context for the access concerns raised in the letter, but do not prove that security personnel acted at the direction of political factions.
The complaint has emerged at a sensitive time for the MK Party, which is preparing for the 4 November local government elections. The party cancelled its final pre-election rally, while Zuma was expected to testify before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Cases Inquiry on 22 October.
A video posted by Zuma-Sambudla showed Zuma lifting light weights in what appeared to be a private gym. The video was old and did not provide an update on his current medical condition.
SAPS does not comment on protection arrangements
SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said police do not comment on security-related matters concerning sitting or former heads of state.
The letter is being handled internally by the SAPS, according to the available information. It remains unclear whether a formal investigation has been completed, whether any security members have been redeployed or whether any disciplinary action has been taken.
The complaint calls for answers about who controls Zuma’s movements, how meetings are approved, whether venue-sweeping procedures are followed and whether people outside the security structure influence operational decisions.
It also asks for scrutiny of medical communication, including whether treating doctors are informed about all treatments and substances administered to the former president.
For now, the allegations remain unproven, the police have declined to discuss the security arrangements and Zuma’s medical team has not publicly disclosed details about his condition. The internal complaint nevertheless provides a rare view of the tensions surrounding the former president’s access, security and care as his party prepares for the elections.