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Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, is set to be charged for her alleged role in the 2021 riots that left over 300 people dead, her father’s party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), has announced.
The unrest, which began in Durban before spreading to Gauteng, erupted after Zuma was jailed in July 2021, triggering violent protests, widespread looting, and destruction. Zuma-Sambudla, a senior MK member, is accused of inciting the chaos through inflammatory social media posts.
MK has called on its supporters to “mobilize all ground forces” to attend her court appearance in Durban on Thursday. While she has not publicly addressed the charges, she posted a cryptic message on X, simply stating: “We see you.”
Zuma-Sambudla repeatedly used this phrase during the riots, often sharing images of the destruction. In one now-deleted post, she shared a video of a person firing an automatic rifle at a poster of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Authorities previously stated they were not directly investigating her, though she had been named in witness statements. In response, she once defiantly posted: “I have no fear! I will not be intimidated! I have beaten the dogs, now the masters are coming out! We see you!”
The 2021 riots remain one of the darkest episodes in post-apartheid South Africa. More than 200 shopping malls were looted, 150,000 jobs were lost, and damages ran into billions. Ramaphosa described the violence as an “attempted insurrection.”
Last year, Zuma’s MK party made a stunning political debut, securing 15% of the vote in South Africa’s elections and becoming the country’s third-largest party.
Now, with one of its key figures facing trial, tensions are set to rise once again.
