The court is currently hearing the case of former President Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who has been charged with incitement to commit terrorism and incitement to commit violence connected to the civil unrest in July 2021.
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During the proceedings, no links were established between Zuma-Sambudla and the financing of groups involved.
The case of the 2021 civil unrest
The state alleges that Zuma-Sambudla’s social media posts contributed to the escalation of violence and encouraged people to participate in the violence as well. The unrest erupted after her father was imprisoned for defying a Constitutional Court (ConCourt) order.
No links found
Zuma-Sambudla appeared in court on Monday, 26 October 2026, as proceedings resumed in her high-profile trial. The results of the examination of her financial records and cellphone data were found and heard.
Colonel Bheki Nazo, the unit commander of the South African Police Service (SAPS) KZN’s Serious Organised Crime Unit, shared these findings: the investigation did not produce evidence establishing the suspected financial links or communication.
Nazo explained that the examination was to establish a link between Zuma-Sambudla and the groups involved in the unrest, stating:
“[The purpose was to check] if there was any money that was taken out of that account, financing the other groups that were participating in the unrest at the time.”
He later verified that they could not come up with evidence to prove this.
“We could not prove the communication between the accused person and those other groups,” Nazo added.
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The trial will be resuming today, October 27th, 2026.
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s trial resumes today, Monday, 26 October 2026, at the Durban High Court.
She’s looking good.
#JulyUnrestCase
#DuduzileZumaZambudla https://t.co/789OqElTPU— Tlou🇿🇦 (@TlouMr_S) October 26, 2026
Greetings under scrutiny
The court also heard testimony from Ellie Khumalo-Simelane, a retired officer and now language practitioner. Translating in this case, she states that the frequent use of the word “sawubona” on the accused’s social media translates to “we see you.”
A social media expert who testified previously in the case interpreted the phrase as an indication that Zuma-Sambudla was encouraging the actions taking place.
However, defence lawyer Dali Mpofu argued that the expression was a direct English translation of the common isiZulu greeting, which was rejected by the language practitioner.
Yet after much objection, when the proceedings transpired, Khumalo-Simelane agreed with Mpofu during cross-examination that translating words from English to isiZulu could sometimes be difficult.
Featured image: Instagram/@duduzilezuma_sambundla
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