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Noma Gigaba is refusing to leave her husband, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba, after his alleged fling with New York-based fashionista Buhle Mkhize.
After tension with the woman believed to be the minister’s former mistress escalated this week, Noma vows that she is standing by her man despite numerous phone calls and emails from Mkhize, in which she begged her to leave her marriage, or allow her to become Gigaba’s second wife.
City Press has seen a series of emails from Mkhize to Noma sent early last year in which the mistress gives her an ultimatum: either she divorces Gigaba, or she has to pay Mkhize to go away.
A close confidante of Noma told City Press that in May last year, five months before news of the scandal broke, Mkhize told Noma on the phone that she wanted to become Gigaba’s second wife.
But when Noma refused, Mkhize allegedly told her: “I would only leave you alone if you pay me a financial settlement.”
At the time, she didn’t say how much money she wanted.
A month later, Mkhize sent an email in which she asked Noma: “Why are you not leaving after I told you everything?”
After Noma ignored her mails, an increasingly frustrated Mkhize mailed again, saying: “Why are you not responding to my email? I’ve decided that I’ll make it my duty to give you the update of what’s happening now, because I’ve realised Malusi has and will twist anything in his favour.”
Noma’s confidante told City Press this week that she has forgiven her husband and now feels sorry for him because “he is very sorry for what he has done”. The couple are now “happy together”, she said.
“Noma and Malusi love each other. He did show how remorseful he was after Buhle came out in public about their affair,” the friend said.
“They are stronger than ever and they are there for each other.”
News of the affair broke on Instagram in October and Mkhize revealed all the sordid details in a series of Instagram posts, as well as in an open letter. She revealed how she and Gigaba struck up their affair before he married Noma, how she found out about his wedding on Instagram, and how he pleaded with her to continue their relationship. She also alleged that, just after his honeymoon, Gigaba told her he loved her, and that after the news of their affair broke, Gigaba arranged with intelligence agencies to give R500 000 to Mkhize in exchange for her silence.
But Noma started receiving emails from Mkhize long before that, a few months after she got married in December 2014.
In one email sent to Noma just before 7am on June 2 last year, Mkhize threatens: “If Malusi is insisting that he’s not taking me back, I’m not going to let him walk free. I’m going to attempt privately negotiating with him until 10am today and I’ll then proceed to contact media. I am not willing to negotiate anything with him in private after 10am today.”
“And if he says that I’ve threatened to go to the newspapers, it’s true ... And I know South African media is useless. I will play them.”
The feud between the two women continued this week when Mkhize took to Instagram to threaten to sue Noma for defamation for calling her a “prostitute”.
One of Mkhize’s Instagram followers tagged Noma in a post on Monday, in which she suggested that Noma dresses more like Mkhize. Mkhize responded by thanking her for “advising the minister’s wife on how to dress”. Noma then responded hotly: “Fokof wena prostitute ndini enamanga. Hamba uyodayisa as usual [F**k off you lying prostitute. Go sell your body as usual].”
After that, said Noma’s confidante, Mkhize sent her direct messages demanding an apology. She also publicly posted: “I will not give you that peace unless you apologise, because you’ve hurt my dignity with these insults. An apology is the only thing that will make me never say anything at all.”
Noma deleted her Instagram account on Monday and Mkhize has since deleted all the offending posts.
Noma declined to comment this week. “I’m focusing on my family right now,” she said. Her friend said she would do “anything to protect her family”.
When City Press sent a message to Mkhize on Instagram asking for comment, she responded: “What else are you going to ask me? I’ve said everything that I wanted to say. She’s the one who started it with the disrespect.”
Friends say that at first Noma used to have a mini breakdown every time Mkhize posted comments about her, but now it doesn’t affect her as much.
They say she doesn’t need her husband’s money and remains in the relationship because she loves him. When they met, she had a job, a luxury house in Bryanston and two cars.
“Noma can afford a luxury lifestyle – she doesn’t need Gigaba’s money,” said her friend.
The only thing the minister has said about his alleged affair was in a statement released October last year.
“My family, in particular my wife, has been subjected to a protracted campaign of public embarrassment and cyberharassment. I regret exposing my family to such an individual, but truly can only blame myself. The defamation has left me no option but to speak out and seek legal remedies to protect my loved ones.”
