In a show of force on Thursday morning, senior members of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) and the party’s ranks and file travelled to Durban to offer moral support to their comrade, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.
While the MK Party supporters erupted in song, Zuma-Sambudla arrived flanked by senior party members.
Among them were former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane and former minister Nkosinathi Nhleko, who is MKP national organiser.
Sambudla-Zuma (42) one of the eldest daughters of former president Jacob Zuma, was making her second court appearance at the Durban magistrate’s court.
July 2021 riots
The controversial socialite-turned-politician, who is an MP for the MK Party, faces charges of incitement to commit terrorism and two counts of incitement to commit public violence.
The charges relate to what is now known as the July 2021 riots, which were characterised by large-scale looting mainly in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng. The riots claimed the lives of over 300 people.
“As prosecution, we are ready to proceed, and we have no doubt that our case is solid,” National Public Prosecutions (NPA) spokesperson, advocate Mthunzi Mhaga, said.
It also emerged that KwaZulu-Natal’s director of public prosecutions had been furnished with a letter from lawyers representing Zuma-Sambudla.
Sunday World understands that the lawyers want the charges against their client to be dropped, citing that the case has no prospects in law to succeed and pointing to frivolous prosecution, among other reasons.
But Mhaga stated that the lawyers were clutching at straws.
Anger over Zuma’s arrest
“There is no merit in their submission. We just hope there will be no further application, which will delay the trial,” he said.
The matter had been convened for a pretrial conference where the state and defence would present their case before the judge to gauge whether there were sufficient grounds for the case to sit for a trial.
The matter was adjourned to August 14. At the heart of the riots was believed to be anger over the arrest of Zuma.
The former head of state and now the leader of the MKP was charged with contempt of court for his refusal to appear before the state capture commission.
The commission was chaired by retired chief justice Raymond Zondo.
It was set up to probe, among other allegations, the plundering of state-owned entities, which led to billions of rands being syphoned from the state coffers.
According to the state, Zuma-Sambudla had been beating the war drums using her X account.
The case mostly hinges on the phrase “we see you”, which the state says was the buzz that mollified the riots.
Black people targeted in Phoenix
The riots had begun with the looting of shops, where people in various townships went on a rampage, vandalising and sabotaging critical infrastructure.
Well-organised crime syndicates also leverage the chaos to bomb ATMs and steal substantial amounts of cash.
In KwaZulu-Natal, which recorded the highest death toll in the Indian township of Phoenix, the riots turned into a racial war.
People of Indian descent were alleged to have targeted black people, unleashing deadly attacks. They had recruited private security, among other elements,, to carry out the attacks.
Their defence was that they were protecting their businesses and residential area from being attacked by people from the surrounding black townships.
Over 30 people, many of whom were not part of the riots, were killed.
