While her husband runs the country’s finances, Norma Gigaba is keeping the home fires burning.
SHE reclines on a white leather sofa in her spacious living room, elegant in a floral dress. Her hair is sleek, her nails are immaculate, her brows are salon perfect and her makeup is flawless.
This is Nomachule “Norma” Gigaba as her quarter of a million followers on Instagram have come to know her: groomed, stylish and designerlabel loving – the woman who enjoys sharing pictures of herself jetting to such places as New York City, Dubai, Rome and London.
But she’s not the same person she used to be, she says. She’s not the “Mrs Gigabytes” of social media fame who lent her nickname to her own brand of clothing last year.
“Long before I created my Instagram account I was Mrs Gigabytes because I was in IT,” she says. “But I’ve been thinking about it – do I really want to be Mrs Gigabytes when I’m 50 or 60 years old? Just imagine, ‘Gogo Gigabytes . . .’ It’s cool now but do I want to invest in a name I’m going to drop later?
“People still call me that but I know in time they’ll forget. I want my [real] name to be known because that’s who I am.”
She’s also, of course, Mrs Malusi Gigaba, wife of the country’s new finance minister who was appointed in highly controversial circumstances.
Life hasn’t changed a lot for the Gigabas since that late night phone call from President Jacob -Zuma offering Malusi the job of holder of the country’s coffers.
This story is from the April 27, 2017 edition of Drum English.
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This story is from the April 27, 2017 edition of Drum English.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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