ANC veteran Tony Yengeni and his estranged wife Lumka are finally divorcing after a decade of separation.
Sunday World has learnt that Yengeni informed Lumka last week that he wanted to be a free man and that he had instructed his lawyers to help him file for divorce.
The ANC heavyweight and his wife separated around 2011, after allegations of cheating but the two lovebirds did not entertain divorce, raising hopes among those who adored them that they would rekindle their love and resuscitate their moribund union.
A close family friend, who did to want to be named for fear of victimisation, said the ANC national executive committee member, who is leading the radical economic transformation (RET) forces’ campaign to unseat party president Cyril Ramaphosa in the forthcoming elective conference in December, wanted out of their marriage.
Yengeni, said the friend, no longer loved Lumka, a high commissioner designate of South Africa to Jamaica, and had warned her that if she opposed the divorce proceedings, she would be liable for payment of the costs incurred.
“Not that he wants to marry again but because he wants to start the year without any baggage, that is why he decided to institute divorce against her,” said the friend.
The friend further said Yengeni and Lumka, who married in community of property on April 20 1988, no longer worried about co-parenting their two children because they were both adults who are self-sufficient.
The two married while in exile in Lusaka, Zambia.
“They no longer love each other and have lost interest in the continuation of the marriage,” said the friend.
The disintegration of the former political power couple’s marriage came to light in 2011 when Sunday Times published an article alleging that the political heavyweight cheated on Lumka with a Cape Town stock broker, Agnes Senokwane, who is from Zeerust, and had vacated their matrimonial home in Milnerton, Cape Town.
This, alleged the paper, plunged Lumka into depression. She was allegedly admitted to hospital where she was treated for several weeks.
The paper also reported that the convicted fraudster and former ANC chief whip moved into a luxury apartment with Senokwane whom he showered with lavish gifts, including overseas trips and a luxury cabriolet.
Yangeni ignored our phone calls and text messages.
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