Riots Trial of Jacob Zuma’s Daughter Set for November

(FILES) Duduzile Zuma, daughter of former South African President and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader Jacob Zuma looks on during a press conference in Sandton, Johannesburg on August 22, 2024. The trial is due to start in November 2025 of a daughter of South Africa's former president Jacob Zuma accused of incitement to commit terrorism and and public violence during 2021 riots that left more than 350 people dead. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, 42, is charged with inciting terrorism and public violence through social media posts after Jacob Zuma was sent to prison in July 2021 for refusing to testify in corruption proceedings against him. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)

A South African court has scheduled the trial of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former President Jacob Zuma, for November. She is accused of inciting the 2021 riots that left more than 350 people dead.

Zuma-Sambudla, 42, is among several individuals charged with inciting terrorism and public violence through social media posts following her father’s imprisonment in July 2021 for refusing to testify in a corruption inquiry.

The ensuing unrest, marked by rioting and looting, was the deadliest in South Africa since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.

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Zuma-Sambudla denies the charges, calling the case politically motivated.

Riots Trial of Zuma’s Daughter Set for November
(FILES) Former South African President Jacob Zuma (R) and his daughter, Duduzile Zuma (L), look on as they wait in court ahead of the private prosecution trial, where Zuma is suing South African President Cyril Ramaphosa over a leaked medical report linked to a 1990s arms corruption trial, in Johannesburg on April 11, 2024. The trial is due to start in November 2025 of a daughter of South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma accused of incitement to commit terrorism and and public violence during 2021 riots that left more than 350 people dead. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, 42, is charged with inciting terrorism and public violence through social media posts after Jacob Zuma was sent to prison in July 2021 for refusing to testify in corruption proceedings against him. (Photo by EMMANUEL CROSET / AFP)

The Durban High Court has set her trial for November 10, with a pre-trial assessment scheduled for August 14, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga told AFP.

Durban, the largest city in KwaZulu-Natal—Zuma’s political stronghold—bore the brunt of the violence, which also spread to Johannesburg.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who succeeded Zuma in 2018, deployed the military to restore order, describing the unrest as an attempted insurrection.

Jacob Zuma, who served as president from 2009 to 2018, was initially sentenced to 15 months in prison but was released after two months on health grounds. Ramaphosa later commuted his sentence.

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