Mdumiseni Zuma has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for the role he played as an instigator of the unrest that gripped parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July 2021.
Zuma was found guilty and sentenced by the Pietermaritzburg magistrate’s court on Wednesday in relation to the burning of the Brookside Mall in KwaZulu-Natal.
The state argued during trial that Zuma incited the looting of the mall in Pietermaritzburg, the second-largest city in KwaZulu-Natal.
In 2021, Zuma posted a video of himself inside the mall calling on people to vandalise and loot the mall should it be open for business the next day.
Hours later, the mall was looted and set alight.
During trial, Zuma admitted that his actions might have persuaded many other people to embarking on a looting spree.
He was found guilty of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act.
Malema wants to offer help
Writing on X after the sentence was handed down, EFF leader Julius Malema said he did not think that Zuma was well-represented by a legal team.
“I don’t think the so-called July 2021 instigator Mdumiseni Zuma got a proper legal representation,” wrote Malema.
“I’ve since asked our KwaZulu-Natal provincial chair to get the facts [of the case] and [establish] how we can be of assistance.”
Earlier in November, former Ukhozi FM presenter Ngizwe Mchunu was found not guilty of three charges including inciting violence during the unrest and contravening the Disaster Management Act during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mchunu, who appeared in the Randburg magistrate’s court, said at the time that the case had cost him more than R1.5-million.
