''Khwezi – The Remarkable Story Of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo'' (2017) is a book by

Redi Tlhabi Redi Tlhabi (; born 1978) is a South African journalist, producer, author and a former radio presenter. She presented ''The Redi Tlhabi Show'' on Radio 702 for over a decade. Her broadcasting career spans years spent at Kaya FM, being a newscast ...

, a journalist and radio presenter from South Africa about the life of Fezekile Ntsukela Kuzwayo. South African President

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

was tried for raping Kuzwayo, and controversially acquitted in the

Johannesburg High Court The Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa is a superior court of law which has general jurisdiction over the South African province of Gauteng and the eastern part of North West province. The main seat of the division is at Pretoria, ...

in December 2005. The trial was controversial not only for the seriousness of the charge, but for statements made by Zuma during court proceedings as well as the way Kuzwayo was treated in the press and by the public.

Background and synopsis

The title "Khwezi" refers to Kuzwayo's pseudonym used during and shortly after the trial to protect Kuzwayo's identity following multiple threats and insults. The book is an account of Kuzwayo's life. From her childhood in exile growing up in

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC) training camps during

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

to the events leading up to and including the Zuma rape trial and ends at the time of her death in 2016 ten years later. It also details her experiences following Zuma's acquittal and the severe public criticism she experienced. The book also raises the rarely discussed issue of rape and child rape that took place in the ANC training camps in the 1980s.

Reception

The book prompted substantial public interest in South Africa following its release with audiences of over 600 people attending book launches and "radio conversations reveal nga rapt public entirely consumed with the injustice done to Khwezi." The book sold out of its first print run within weeks of publication.

References

South African non-fiction books Political books 2017 non-fiction books Books about the African National Congress Jacob Zuma Rape in South Africa Jonathan Ball Publishers books {{DEFAULTSORT:Khwezi