Former president Jacob Zuma's soon-to-be 7 wife, Nonkanyiso Conco, has reportedly been forced to resign from a women's empowerment organisation, Daily Maverick reported. Conco (24) was reportedly the national treasurer and communications officer for She Conquers, a campaign that was supposed to tackle HIV-infection rates in young women.
On Saturday, She Conquers reportedly gave Conco until Monday to resign because he had not told them about her relationship with Zuma. Conco reportedly gave birth to a child fathered by Zuma recently.
She Conquers reportedly said Conco's relationship with Zuma is at odds with the principles of the campaign, which are to "empower young women".
She Conquers deputy chairperson Leonora Mathe reportedly said: "As young girls, we are lured and used by people with power who use their position to take advantage of us. We promote economic empowerment and self-dependency of young women to eliminate the concept of reliance on 'blessers'."
Conco reportedly did not respond to attempts by Daily Maverick to seek comment from her.
Conco confirmed to TimesLive at the weekend that she is engaged to marry Zuma.
The Sowetan reported that Conco was a journalism intern at Isolezwe ngoMgqibelo between 2012 and 2013. A journalist who spoke to The Sowetan on condition of anonymity said Conco was an advocate of virginity testing and boasted that she had attended the Reed Dance events since she was a toddler.
Journalists were reportedly shocked when she was seen sitting close to the Zuma family while covering an event in Greytown in 2016.
"I knew there and then that there was something going on. You don't just sit there as an ordinary citizen. And because I had not seen her nor spoken to her in two years, I kept my distance because I was intimidated by her VIP status. But she later walked to me and greeted me warmly. She still remembered me from the newsroom," a journalist reportedly said.
Meanwhile, the Zuma family is said to be thrilled about the match.
Bhekumuzi Zuma of the KwaNxamalala clan in Nkandla told the Weekend Argus that Zuma had shown he was an honest man by agreeing to marry Conco.