July Unrest: Top MK Party leaders expected at Zuma-Sambudla’s court appearance

Top leaders of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) are expected to flock to the Durban Magistrate's court on Thursday to support former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, on charges related to the July unrest in 2021.

Zuma-Sambudla, a member of Parliament and the chairperson of the Southern Caucus of the Pan-African Parliament, is accused of instigating the July protests, regarded as the worst violence in the country since apartheid.

While the party has called on its members to rally behind Zuma-Sambudla when she appears, top party leaders, including its parliamentary chief whip, Mzwanele Manyi, are expected to be present.

Zuma-Sambudla’s twin brother, Duduzane Zuma, also told IOL that he would clear his diary to ensure he supported his sister in court.

Recently appointed MK Youth League (MK YL) convenor Qiniso Cibane told the publication that the MK YL's leaders would be at court. 

uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) announced her appearance on Tuesday on its official social media page on X.

The MK party wrote in a short post, "This is an invitation to mobilize all ground forces to attend in numbers.”

After the July unrest in which 354 people were killed, dozens of people faced charges, including terrorism, conspiring the commission of terrorism, sedition, public violence, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit public violence, and incitement to commit public violence.

According to reports, the accused were disgruntled with the Constitutional Court's decision in June 2021 to jail former president Jacob Zuma for 15 months for contempt of court for refusing to testify in the Zondo Commission into State Capture. At the time, Zuma-Sambudla was accused of sharing incendiary social media posts that fuelled the civil unrest.

Some media reports stated that WhatsApp groups were created with the intention of organising, planning, inciting, and coordinating violent incidents and looting that occurred mainly in KZN and sporadically spread to other parts of the country, with the aim of pressurising the authorities to release Zuma.

This was following the proceedings of the State Capture commission which was chaired by Justice Raymond Zondo.

The South African Human Rights Commission also released a report and found the July 2021 unrest was orchestrated by perpetrators who were well resourced but was unable to establish a direct link between the unrest and the incarceration of Zuma.

However, the reports have been challenged in court, with some of the suspects being acquitted due to lack of evidence after raising many concerns about the findings of some of the organisations which claimed Zuma-Sambudla was one of the instigators.

thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL