By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The case against Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has been transferred to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban where she will appear on 20 March.
Zuma-Sambudla handed herself over at the Durban Central police station for her alleged involvement in inciting violence during the July 2021 unrest.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo said that Zuma-Sambudla was accompanied by her lawyer advocate Dali Mpofu.
“A 42-year-old suspect will appear at the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday 30 January 2025 on charges under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (POCDATARA) and incitement to commit violence.
“The suspect who handed herself over at Durban Central police station this morning was arrested and processed. The arrest is as a result of a meticulous investigation by the Durban crimes against the state unit of the serious organised crime investigation unit, following the unrest that brought the country to a standstill in 2021,” Mbambo said.
The unrest, which lasted from July 9 to 18, 2021, was triggered by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma for contempt of court. The violent incidents across various cities claimed more than 350 lives in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
In addition to the tragic loss of life, the unrest caused extensive damage to infrastructure, including malls and shopping centres, costing businesses billions of rands to rebuild.
South African Police Service (SAPS) revealed that 5 341 arrests were made during the unrest, with 505 suspects convicted on charges ranging from murder and attempted murder to arson. There are still 394 cases pending in court.
In court Zuma-Sambudla interacted with senior MK party officials and her twin Duduzane before proceedings got under way.
Her legal representative Mpofu read an affidavit into the court record before the magistrate waived the R3,000 bail Zuma-Sambudla said she was willing to pay.
In his ruling, Magistrate Irfaan Khalil says there is nothing in the affidavit by the Investigating Officer which suggests that there might be any risk to have the accused released on bail.
He says there are no reasons or bases to place conditions of her release on bail.
He says the exceptional circumstances do permit Zuma-Sambudla to be released on bail.
The State did not oppose to bail, which she asked to be set at R3,000 in line with what previous accused arrested on similar unrest related charges had faced.
Speaking to journalists outside of court, NPA spokesperson advocate Mthunzi Mhaga explained why the case had taken long to be brought to court.
Mhaga said: “It is the first time that the NPA is charging a person based on content posted on what we call X, which was previously known as Twitter, for content that we consider to amount to incitement to commit terrorism. It is a unique case, complex in nature in the sense reliance on the investigation and evidence is based on social media posts.”
He said SAPS also had to outsource some of the investigation to social media experts as they do not have those kind of skills in their ranks.