State Says There Is a Prima Facie Case Against Duduzile Zuma and She Should Be Held Accountable

The State has told the court that there is a strong enough case against Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla and that she must answer for her actions during the July 2021 unrest. This position was shared in an update from the KZN Tonight Podcast on Thursday.

Zuma-Sambudla, the daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, is facing serious charges in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban. The State has charged her with one count of incitement to commit terrorism and two counts of incitement to commit public violence. Prosecutors say her social media posts at the time encouraged people to join the violence and helped make the unrest worse.

The unrest broke out after her father was sent to prison for contempt of court. In the days that followed, looting, burning and destruction spread across parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Many people lost their lives, businesses were damaged and thousands of jobs were put at risk. The State argues that Zuma-Sambudla’s posts played a role in what happened and that she should be held responsible.

Her legal team, led by advocate Dali Mpofu, has asked the court to throw out the case. They say the State has not shown that her posts actually caused anyone to commit violence or that she planned to start the unrest. They want the charges dropped without her having to give evidence or call witnesses.

The State disagrees. Investigators and prosecutors maintain that the evidence already presented is enough to show a prima facie case. They say the posts were clear, people acted on the messages that were circulating, and the damage that followed cannot be ignored. The court is expected to decide soon whether the trial will continue or whether Zuma-Sambudla will be discharged.

Zuma-Sambudla has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The case has drawn wide public interest because of her family name and the scale of the 2021 events. Many South Africans are watching closely to see how the court will handle claims that social media activity helped fuel one of the most destructive periods in recent years. For now, both sides have made their arguments and the matter rests with the judge.

Source: https://x.com/ZANewsFlash/status/2115795085556392384

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