‘They are arresting my child because they don’t like her father,’ Zuma says [VIDEOS]

Former president and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader Jacob Zuma has expressed confusion over the charges against his daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, saying she was arrested because they don’t like him.

Zuma-Sambudla was released on a warning by the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday after her first appearance in the dock.

The case has been transferred to the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) High Court in Durban, where she will appear on 20 March.

Zuma-Sambudla is charged with incitement to commit terrorism and two counts of incitement to commit public violence.

Zuma confused

Addressing party supporters on a stage set up near the court, Zuma thanked them for listening to his daughter’s case.

The MK party leader said they cannot say what the case is about.

“We have just been in court, but we cannot figure out what case is levelled against Duduzile. If you write on Twitter and say ‘I see you’, is that a crime? Today, we are here for that after four years. A girl child writes on Twitter, ‘we see you’, she’d be charged today.

“They are now arresting my child because they don’t like her, nor do they like her father or the party that he leads. Are we going to keep quiet? Other people who were found with money under a mattress were not arrested,” said Zuma.

[WATCH] MK Party leader Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla's father, Jacob Zuma, speaks outside the Durban Magistrate’s Court, expressing confusion over the charges against his daughter. "We have just been in court, but we cannot figure out what case is levelled against Duduzile."… pic.twitter.com/9SrxuQB5m0

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) January 30, 2025

ALSO READ: Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla released on warning, will return to high court in March [VIDEO]

‘What has Zuma-Sambudla done?’

Zuma also took a swipe at journalists.

“What has the daughter of Jacob Mhlanganyelwa Zuma done? Does Duduzile have a case to answer to? What are you going to report on about what happened here today? Why are you quiet?”

MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said there is no case against Zuma-Sambudla.

“Today’s outcome is a clear confirmation there is no case. The mere fact that the magistrate ordered a warning as opposed to a bail amount is clear confirmation there is no case. These are just trumped-up charges, it’s just a political ploy and political persecution.”

‘Complex matter’

National Prosecution Authority (NPA) spokesperson Advocate Mthunzi Mhaga said the case took three years to reach court because it was a complex matter.

“This is the first time that the NPA is charging based on content posted on what we call X, which was previously known as Twitter, for content we consider to be amounting to be inciting to commit terrorism.

“It’s a unique case, complex in nature, in the sense that reliance on the investigation and evidence is based on social media posts. It’s a technical investigation. It is an investigation that some of the parts of the investigative process has to be outsourced in terms of experts on social media, because Saps [South African Police Service] doesn’t have an expert on social media,” Mhaga said.

[WATCH] NPA spokesperson Adv. Mthunzi Mhaga tells #Newzroom405 @LindA_MniSii why the Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla case took three years to reach this point. pic.twitter.com/wfwjAijDSw

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) January 30, 2025

ALSO READ: Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla hands herself over to Durban police [VIDEO]

Emojis

Mhaga said there was an issue of emojis.

“There are issues of images that need to be interpreted by an expert in that field. There are procurement processes that need to be followed in order to source or procure that investigative source.”

He said legal issues that will still be litigated in a trial court cannot be argued “from an uninformed, emotional, and political perspective”.

In the charge sheet, the State told the court that Zuma-Sambudla, through her Twitter posts, supported, encouraged and associated, and thereby incited violence to secure Zuma’s release.

Mhaga dismissed the claims made by Zuma-Sambudla’s lawyer that the case was politically motivated.

Charges

Zuma-Sambudla is facing charges under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (POCDATARA) and incitement to commit violence.

The charges follow a criminal case opened by Forensics for Justice’s Paul O’Sullivan, who provided the police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) with a detailed forensic report documenting every tweet Zuma-Sambudla sent during the riots.

More than 350 people were killed during the July 2021 riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

ALSO READ: ‘Tweets may suffice’ in proving Zuma-Sambudla allegedly incited terrorism – analyst