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Tshepo Motsepe – A First Lady with style and intelligence

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Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife Dr Tshepo Motsepe
Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife Dr Tshepo Motsepe

It was the pure wool, abstract python-print jacket by local designer Thula Sindi that set tongues wagging on Thursday.

Tshepo Motsepe cut an elegant but understated figure as her husband, President Cyril Ramaphosa, took his oath of office.

Her tailored suit was perhaps a signal of the sort of First Lady she will be.

Those who know her said she would not be an Instagram queen like former president Jacob Zuma’s third wife Thobeka, or a woman prone to fashion gaffes, screaming colours and girlish braids.

Her CV suggests she is more concerned about substance than style.

A medical doctor, Motsepe – who graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s medical school and obtained her master’s degree at the Harvard School of Public Health in the US – has sat on the boards of various charities and is the chairperson of the African Self Help Trust, which focuses on early childhood development.

The rest of her CV suggests her passions lie in maternal and child health and development.

Motsepe’s quiet, softly spoken personality is echoed in the neutral, understated tones she appears to prefer.

“I was very surprised she decided to pick one of my designs to wear on such a big day,” Sindi told City Press on Friday. “It’s such a great honour to dress such an accomplished customer.

“She’ll come in store and buy whatever she likes and is available at that time.

"She will not make any impossible demands and throw tantrums like any other celebrities. She is not a prima donna,” he said, adding that when she arrives she always greets the staff with a big smile.

Motsepe is more understated than her fashion-icon sister-in-law Precious Moloi Motsepe, who is married to Motsepe’s brother, mining magnate Patrice.

Her sister businesswoman Bridgette Radebe arrived at Friday night’s state of the nation address on the arm of her husband, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe, in a fashionable monochrome dress and jacket combination.

Precious Motsepe chose an outfit only slightly brighter than her usual neutrals and pastels – an elegant gold and black top and jacket with a generous gold silk skirt.

Tshepo Motsepe’s quiet demeanour belies her steel and strength, said a close family friend who described her as the pillar of the Motsepe family who always protects her younger siblings.

“She is very close to Bridgette, Patrice and her relatives. She is the one to organise family meetings and her family always relies on her when there is dispute. Her family looks up to her,” he said.

Tshepo Motsepe, he said, chose not to change her name when she married in honour of her father Chief Augustine Butana Chaane Motsepe, who died in 2007 at the age of 92.

“Dr Tshepo loves her husband and family. When there was a smear campaign against Ramaphosa before he became president, she was behind him all the way. She has always been his number one supporter,” the family friend said.

Those who live near to Tshepo Motsepe’s home, in the expensive suburb of Hyde Park, said they used to see her and her children – she has four with Ramaphosa – shopping at the local Woolworths.

But since Ramaphosa became deputy president, they had not seen her as often.

But this week she was seen shopping at Fournos Bakery in Dunkeld, where she has been spotted having breakfast with no bodyguards in sight.

After City Press reported that some neighbours got frustrated because Ramaphosa’s VIP police detail clogged up traffic in the street in morning rush hour, she went around to them the next week to apologise for the inconvenience.

“She’s a very quiet and gentle soul and very gracious. That’s my experience of her,” said one resident.

“She is very humble and very down to earth. I don’t think she’ll welcome the spotlight that comes with being first lady, but she’ll do it because she supports her husband.”

Sindi said Tshepo Motsepe had been supporting his store in Johannesburg for two years.

He could not remember exactly when she bought the jacket she wore on Thursday, because she pops in occasionally to buy items off the rack, expecting no special treatment.

Sindi, who counts National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete, businesswoman Peggy-Sue Khumalo, and actress Terry Pheto among his clients, describe Motsepe as a “sophisticated, friendly, respectful person, but very understated”.

“She is just a breath of fresh air,” he said.

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