A new chapter in South Africa's long-running Zuma saga is set to begin with Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, the 43-year-old daughter of former President Jacob Zuma, due to go on trial this week on terrorism-related charges.
In what is believed to be a first for the country, she is being prosecuted over what she wrote on social media four years ago during deadly protests. Jacob Zuma's presidency ended in controversies, but the 2021 unrest following his imprisonment for contempt of court led to a week of lawlessness, looting, and destruction.
Prosecutors allege that Zuma-Sambudla played a significant role in inciting violence through social media during the turmoil that left at least 300 dead and caused an estimated $2.8 billion in damage.
The trial will serve as a critical test for the state's capacity to prosecute cases involving the 2021 unrest. Zuma-Sambudla's supporters see the charges as a politically motivated attack aimed at her father, who is currently an opposition leader.
Her rise in the political arena has been significant, not just as a staunch supporter of her father but as an elected member of parliament with ties to the uMkhonto weSizwe party.
The state claims her social media activity, including various posts expressing solidarity with her father and inciting unrest, constitutes incitement to terrorism. However, her legal team argues the charges are baseless and politically charged.
"The prosecution's case is weak," her lawyer claims, pointing out the challenges the state faces in proving intent to incite violence.
This trial, as the first of its kind in South Africa, is pivotal not just for Zuma-Sambudla but for the implications it holds for political expression and social media in the country.
