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