Zuma’s marital scandals overshadow World Cup

Will anyone in the crowd be watching the game when South Africa take on Mexico in the opening match of the World Cup tournament on Friday? Or will all eyes be on President Jacob Zuma and his wives as they take their seats beside the President of Mexico Felipe Calderon and Fifa chief Sepp Blatter?

The fear is that the increasingly embarrassing scandal engulfing Zuma and the youngest of his three current wives, Nompumelemo Ntuli, will spoil South Africa's big day as the much-awaited tournament finally gets underway.

Not only has it been alleged in recent days that MaNtuli - as she is called - is pregnant by her bodyguard. Now a famous South African actor, Joe Mafela, has admitted that he once had an extra-marital affair with Ntuli.

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First the bodyguard... His name is Phinda Thomo and he is said to have committed suicide rather than face the wrath of his Zulu chief after being caught in bed with his wife last December.

According to the Durban Zulu newspaper Ilanga, MaNtuli attended Thomo's funeral in Soweto. But, according to one of his friends, "some of the bodyguards boycotted his funeral as they were still angry with him for sleeping with the first lady".

The Ilanga report also claimed that MaNtuli, who is 35 to Zuma's 68, has apologised to her husband and paid the traditional fine of one goat, which was killed and eaten.

Zuma is still expected to take her to the opening World Cup match, along with his two other wives and possibly a fiancee. The question is, how heavily pregnant will MaNtuli appear, and will it make Zuma even more of a laughing stock than he already is in some quarters?

Now for Joe Mafela... He's well known in South Africa, having starred in the long-running Zulu language TV comedy series, 'Sgudi 'Snaysi.

He has confirmed to the South African Sunday Times that he cheated on his wife when he and MaNtuli had an affair some years ago, before she met and married President Zuma. He told the paper he had not even informed his wife of the affair.

"I don't want to tear my family apart," he said. "The matter is very sensitive. This thing happened years ago before she [MaNtuli] even met the president. I don't want to be in the president's bad books".

Zuma responded to the news at a World Cup press conference in Pretoria yesterday, saying his family issues were a private matter. Asked whether he was losing any sleep because of the allegations concerning MaNtuli, the president, accompanied by Sepp Blatter, smiled and responded: "Not at all".

Whether the ANC can continue to take Zuma's affairs so casually is another matter. Even members of his own family are apparently fed up with MaNtuli. An unsigned letter from "concerned family members" leaked to various South African newspapers claims that "MaNtuli is nothing but trouble in our father's life and a bad image for the country".

The letter claims Zuma met her during one of his stays at the Hilton in Durban, where she worked as a cleaner.

The latest revelations follow the news earlier this year that Zuma has fathered a child with a 39-year-old divorcee called Sonono Khoza - his 20th known child. There is talk of the ANC cutting short his tenure at the next party conference.