Former president Jacob Zuma celebrated his 83rd birthday in style with a private family affair on Saturday night.

The Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) leader was surrounded by his wives MaKhumalo, MaNgema among others.

His birthday cake was decorated with the political party's colours of green, black and yellow.

In a statement released by MKP, they wished Zuma a happy birthday, sang his praise but did not reveal where the intimate gathering took place.

It reads: “As a stalwart of the liberation struggle, President Zuma has always stood with the oppressed and marginalised people of our country.

“President Zuma whilst imprisoned on Robben Island, sacrificed years of his life fighting for the liberation of our people. His life is defined by sacrifice, resilience, and unwavering commitment to the people of South Africa.”

Meanwhile, JZ was a no-show at his scheduled MKP birthday celebration at the Eshowe Oval Sport Ground in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.

MKP members were left krapping their koppe as they waited for hours as their leader failed to show up earlier on Saturday.

When the programme started at about 2pm, much later than the scheduled 11am start, Zuma had still not arrived.

When asked about Zuma’s no-show, party provincial deputy organiser Reggie Ngcobo, who was the master of ceremony, said Zuma was not coming.

Ngcobo explained: “I don’t know why because we have not been informed, but there was an indication that he is coming. It might happen that there was a problem that stopped him from coming.

“I will check with the national organiser because he was also expecting him to come and we were expecting him to come.”

Ngcobo said that in the morning, security personnel, including SAPS K9 and the bomb squad, came to inspect the security of the venue.

Despite his absence, Zuma's birthday celebration, which was attended by fewer MKP supporters than expected, went ahead as planned.

A green birthday cake, which represented the colours of the party, was placed on the stage.