DUDUZILE Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, is set to be charged for her alleged involvement in the deadly riots that shook the country in 2021, according to her father’s political party, uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK).
As reported by the BBC, MK announced on social media that Zuma-Sambudla will appear in a Durban court on Thursday, calling on supporters to ‘mobilise all ground forces to attend in numbers.’
Allegations of incitement
The 2021 unrest, triggered by Zuma’s imprisonment for contempt of court, resulted in more than 300 deaths and widespread destruction, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Zuma-Sambudla, a senior MK member, was accused of using social media to encourage the violence, repeatedly posting incendiary messages and sharing images of looting and destruction.
During the riots, she frequently used the phrase ‘KZN, we see you’ in her posts. In one now-deleted post, she shared a video of a person firing an automatic weapon at a poster of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Although she has not commented directly on the charges, she posted a cryptic message on X (formerly Twitter), stating: ‘We see you.’
Authorities and past investigations
According to the BBC, South Africa’s elite crime unit, the Hawks, had previously indicated in 2022 that Zuma-Sambudla was not under direct investigation but had been named in multiple witness statements. At the time, she dismissed the scrutiny, saying, ‘I have no fear! I will not be intimidated!’
The Jacob Zuma Foundation also alleged that the former president’s children were being unfairly targeted.
In its 2023 report, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) described the riots as a ‘carefully orchestrated event,’ though it found no direct evidence linking them to Zuma’s arrest.
The aftermath of the riots
The 2021 violence was one of the worst episodes of civil unrest in post-apartheid South Africa. Over 200 shopping malls were looted, an estimated 150,000 jobs were lost, and economic damages ran into billions of rand.
President Cyril Ramaphosa condemned the riots as an ‘attempted insurrection.’
Since then, prosecutions related to the unrest have been limited. In 2023, a former security guard became the first person convicted for his role in the riots, receiving a 12-year prison sentence.
Zuma’s political influence
Despite his legal troubles, Jacob Zuma remains a powerful figure in South African politics. His new party, MK, contested the 2024 elections, securing 15 percent of the vote and becoming the country’s third-largest political party, significantly weakening the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
With Zuma-Sambudla now facing legal action, tensions between her supporters and the government could escalate, potentially testing South Africa’s political stability in the coming months.
