Court Dismisses Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla's Bid to Drop July Unrest Charges

The Durban High Court has dismissed Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla's Section 174 application, meaning she will face legal arguments on charges linked to the July 2021 unrest. Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former President Jacob Zuma, is accused of using social media platform X to incite violence during the unrest, following her father's arrest. The State alleges that she shared posts, videos, and pictures that encouraged violence.

Judge Mbuzeni Mathenjwa said it would be in the interests of justice for the court to conduct a holistic evaluation of the evidence after hearing the defence case. The court refused to discharge Zuma-Sambudla from charges of incitement to commit public violence and terrorism, ruling that the evidence must be assessed as a whole at the end of the trial. Mathenjwa noted that the State had called seven witnesses, some of whom were involved in investigating the alleged offences.

The State opposed Zuma-Sambudla's application, arguing that it had presented a prima facie case against her. Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, representing Zuma-Sambudla, brought the application in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, seeking to be discharged of the charges. However, Mathenjwa said the court was not required to make a final determination on the credibility of witnesses or whether the State had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt at the Section 174 stage.

Mathenjwa explained that an accused could be discharged at the close of the State's case if the evidence was so poor that no reasonable person could accept it. However, he said this was not the case in Zuma-Sambudla's instance. The judge ordered that the application to discharge the accused at the closure of the State case must fail, and the application in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act is refused.

After the ruling, the matter was stood down to arrange dates for its continuation. When proceedings resumed, Mpofu informed the court that the defence would not be calling any witnesses and was closing its case. This means that the next stage will be legal arguments. The matter was postponed to May 17, 2027, for legal arguments.

Outside court, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the ruling meant that the charges against Zuma-Sambudla were valid. The NPA had opposed Zuma-Sambudla's application, arguing that it had presented sufficient evidence to proceed with the trial.

The case against Zuma-Sambudla relates to the July 2021 unrest in South Africa, which followed the arrest of her father, former President Jacob Zuma. The unrest resulted in widespread violence and damage to property. Zuma-Sambudla's trial will continue with legal arguments on May 17, 2027.

Key points

• The Durban High Court has dismissed Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla's bid to have charges linked to the July 2021 unrest dropped.
• Zuma-Sambudla faces charges of incitement to commit public violence and terrorism.
• The trial will continue with legal arguments on May 17, 2027.