Duduzile Zuma Sambudla arrested over South Africa riots

Duduzile Zuma Sambudla arrested over South Africa riots

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, has been arrested in connection with the 2021 riots that left over 300 people dead, police confirmed on Thursday. The violent unrest, initially triggered by Zuma’s imprisonment, spread from the port city of Durban to Gauteng, causing widespread destruction and loss of life.

Zuma-Sambudla, a senior figure in her father’s political party, uMkhonto WeSizwe (MK), was taken into custody following allegations that she incited violence through incendiary social media posts during the riots. According to Brigadier Thandi Mbambo, spokesperson for the Hawks elite police unit, the arrest is the result of a thorough and long-running investigation into key instigators of the deadly unrest.

She voluntarily surrendered at the Durban Central police station on Thursday morning, facing charges under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act, as well as incitement to commit violence. 

Her party, MK, confirmed her court appearance and called on supporters to rally in solidarity. Party spokesperson Nhlamule Ndhela told local media outlet ENCA that Zuma-Sambudla had long been expecting this moment. “She conditioned herself, because there have been many threats about her imminent arrest for the past three or four years,” he said, adding that she would comply with legal proceedings as “a law-abiding citizen.”

Zuma-Sambudla’s name has been linked to the 2021 riots since they erupted in response to her father’s imprisonment. Jacob Zuma, who led South Africa from 2009 to 2018, resigned under the cloud of multiple corruption allegations, which he dismissed as politically motivated.

 In 2021, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court after refusing to testify before a panel investigating corruption during his presidency. His incarceration ignited fierce protests that quickly spiraled into mass looting and violence, becoming one of the most devastating crises in post-apartheid South Africa.

During the unrest, Zuma-Sambudla frequently shared images and videos of the destruction, often captioning them with the phrase “KZN, we see you.” In a since-deleted post, she uploaded a video showing an individual firing an automatic rifle at a poster of President Cyril Ramaphosa. At the time, she denied any wrongdoing, insisting she would not be intimidated.

The Jacob Zuma Foundation previously suggested that the former president’s children were being unfairly targeted. 

The government has since prosecuted several individuals linked to the violence. In 2023, a former security guard was sentenced to 12 years in prison for his role in the riots, making him the first person to be convicted in relation to the events. President Ramaphosa, who succeeded Zuma in 2018, denounced the unrest as an “attempted insurrection.”

The riots had a devastating economic impact, with over 200 shopping malls looted and an estimated 150,000 jobs lost. The political landscape has also shifted significantly, with Zuma’s MK party securing 15% of the vote in last year’s elections, making it the third-largest political force in South Africa.

Zuma-Sambudla’s arrest marks a significant development in the ongoing efforts to bring those responsible for the violence to justice, as authorities continue to investigate the masterminds behind one of the darkest chapters in the country’s recent history.