The trial of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, Member of Parliament for the MK Party and daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, begins today at the Durban High Court.
The proceedings, which are being streamed live, mark a pivotal moment in one of South Africa’s most politically charged cases since the July 2021 unrest.
According to the Daily Maverick, Zuma-Sambudla faces charges of incitement to commit public violence and terrorism-related offences under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act.
The State alleges that she “intentionally and unlawfully inflamed public unrest” through her social media posts following her father’s imprisonment in July 2021, which triggered widespread looting, arson, and violence across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Prosecutor Advocate Yuri Gangai told the court that the State would present a series of tweets, witness testimony, and digital evidence to prove that Zuma-Sambudla used her platform, with over 100,000 followers, to “incite, encourage, and support” acts of violence.
“We will show that the accused understood the volatility of that moment, and she chose to fuel it,” Gangai said.
Major General Gopaul Govender, the State’s first witness, testified that law enforcement had been monitoring Zuma-Sambudla “long before” the July unrest, citing a tweet on 30 June 2021 that allegedly drew their attention to her online activity.
He said she became a “person of interest” in the weeks leading up to the Constitutional Court’s ruling that sentenced Jacob Zuma to 15 months in prison for contempt of court.
Zuma-Sambudla, 42, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Her defence counsel, Advocate Dali Mpofu, argued that she was being unfairly targeted because of her family name and political affiliation.
“We accept that there was widespread violence — it was abhorrent, and it should never have happened. The only issue before this court is whether this accused person incited that violence,” Mpofu said.
Among the posts cited by the prosecution was one in which Zuma-Sambudla allegedly responded to scenes of looting with the phrase “we see you,” which the State claims signalled approval of the unrest.
Mpofu countered that the tweets were taken out of context and did not directly call for violence.
“Is there any other person in South Africa who is sitting in the dock because they said ‘we see you’?” he asked.
The State maintains that her messages amplified existing tensions, exploiting her father’s imprisonment to mobilise public anger.
The riots that followed left more than 350 people dead and caused an estimated R50 billion in economic losses.
Zuma-Sambudla was arrested in January 2025 after handing herself over to authorities and was later released on a warning.
Her trial is expected to continue throughout the week, with the State presenting additional witnesses and forensic evidence.
Watch the live stream of the Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla trial below.
