I support and love him, says Ramaphosa’s wife following cheating scandal

The couple have four children together.

NELSPRUIT, SOUTH AFRICA – JANUARY 11: ANC Deputy President and Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife Tshepo Motsepe arrive at the ANC Gala Dinner on January 11, 2014, in Nelspruit, South Africa. Earlier in the day, the ANC launched its Election Manifesto. As opposed to the ‘booing’ incident at Former President Nelson Mandela’s Memorial Service, President Zuma was well received by ANC members. (Photo by Gallo Images / Sunday Times / Simphiwe Nkwali)

Medical doctor Tshepo Motsepe has expressed unequivocal support for her husband, Cyril Ramaphosa, in the wake of a cheating scandal that was detailed in two newspapers today.

Ramaphosa has admitted to having an affair with a medical practitioner, telling Sunday Times it happened eight years ago and he confessed it to Motsepe. As for the other allegations of affairs with several women, one of them a marketing student, Ramaphosa denies claims he got one of his alleged mistresses pregnant, with her having a miscarriage.

In a statement, he said that he had supported 54 students, some of them male, and his wife was aware of the financial assistance he gave them on a monthly basis.

Speaking to Sunday Times, Motsepe, who is sister to billionare Patrice Motsepe, said she would support her husband and she still loved and respected him.

“It is very sad what is happening. It’s disappointing that people have to go to such lengths to discredit a person. I am very, very upset about it. We have been together a long time and are happily married,” she said.

Tshepo is the second wife of Ramaphosa and is highly educated, having graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery.

She also has an MPH (Masters in Public Health) in Maternal Child Health and Ageing from Harvard Medical School.

Motsepe holds several positions in the private and public sector. She is the non-executive director of Wits Health Consortium and Wits Hospice, is the patron of the South African Civil Society for Women’s, Adolescents and Children’s Health (SACSoWACH) and will hhave Patron of the Students Sponsorship Program (SSP).