Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla to go on trial later this year
The case against uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has been declared trial-ready, with proceedings in her July unrest matter scheduled for later this year.
Zuma-Sambudla appeared at the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) High Court in Durban on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing.
She last appeared in March after her matter was transferred from the Durban Magistrate's Court.
The MK party MP was released on warning earlier this year after handing herself over at the Durban Central Police Station.
ALSO READ: 'Tweets may suffice' in proving Zuma-Sambudla allegedly incited terrorism – analyst
During Thursday's proceedings, the state told the court it was ready to proceed and plans to call eight witnesses, including three social media experts.
The trial is set to run from 10 to 21 November.
Her defence team, led by Advocate Dali Mpofu, has previously indicated its intention to file representations to National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi, seeking to have the decision to indict her reviewed and overturned.
A prior request to KZN Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Elaine Zungu to drop the charges was rejected.
Zuma-Sambudla linked to July 2021 unrest
Zuma-Sambudla faces charges of terrorism and incitement to commit violence linked to the July 2021 unrest.
She is being prosecuted under the Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities Act (POCDATARA).
The state alleges Zuma-Sambudla used her X account – which has over 360,000 followers – to incite and support acts of violence, looting, road blockades, arson, and other offences during the unrest, according to the charge sheet.
She allegedly fuelled unrest by sharing social media posts condemning the arrest of her father, former president Jacob Zuma, for contempt of court, and by reposting images and videos depicting the chaos.
The July 2021 riots in parts of KZN and Gauteng claimed more than 350 lives and caused economic losses estimated at more than R50 billion.
NOW READ: Zuma-Sambudla 'cannot be treated differently even if Zuma is her father' – Mpofu
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Or was this a way in which a leader needs to act when seeing an opening that needs to be exploited? Insofar as Mandela acted alone, he was also not alone in the sense that, when they learnt what he had done, none of his closest comrades doubted what motivated him or that he acted from a strategic sense of what needed to be done at that particular moment. They also realised that the conditions under which he acted had required him to act on his own. Otherwise it would not have succeeded. What is clear is that as soon as Mandela had the opportunity to communicate with the leadership, he did so, and they agreed on a course of action, part of which had been facilitated by his own, unmandated course of action. From then on, Mandela took a number of steps, in and out of prison, in order to ensure that the peace did work, that there was a sustainable peace — or as sustainable as could be — while he was leader. 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The very stubborn commitment to achieving freedom — as in steadfastness rather than unwillingness to change — sometimes led Mandela to act without consent of the leadership collective. But considered retrospectively, he had nothing to gain through taking these initiatives — as a person or as a leader. He may have attempted to present the leadership with a self-initiated fait accompli, but that was not done in order to earn fame or fortune. It was very risky and controversial, and in fact earned and continues to evoke controversy and criticism of his role. At the same time, he was trusted by his closest comrades, who knew what motivated him and respected his judgement. 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On negotiations, Sisulu remarked: 'When [the government] saw a reasonable tone, they misjudged the person. It's easy to underestimate Madiba when he's nice — without knowing his stubbornness in approach… They look at the softness of the soft line: he is not aggressive, he is not wild. Then the possibilities are imagined to be there: to get Mandela. The National Party were prepared to discuss because [they thought] the leadership would come from them, not from the ANC.' The same stubbornness that made Mandela stick to a sense of dignity and through his actions empower other prisoners to resist arbitrary commands, was also manifested in the period of negotiations. Despite granting FW de Klerk credit for breaking some of the logjams, when De Klerk betrayed his trust, the same anger of the rebellious Mandela re-emerged, berating De Klerk, saying — at Codesa — that even from a leader of an illegitimate regime one expected some sense of integrity. But this same stubborn determination sometimes required remedial action, even in the 1990s. Anyone who knew the late Walter Sisulu would understand that he was one individual who could be relied on to make Mandela 'see sense' where it was felt that the 'old man' was being 'totally and unreasonably obstinate'. The story is told of how Mandela's security advised him that it was not safe to go into KwaZulu-Natal during the period of IFP/ANC violence prior to the 1994 elections. Mandela insisted that he would go, irrespective of what intelligence they may have gathered. The security officials were making no progress and decided to secretly phone Sisulu. Sisulu had a word with him and firmly indicated that he should not proceed. Mandela cancelled the visit and laughingly scolded them for 'reporting' him. If we unpack stubbornness as steadfastness, unwillingness to yield in the quest for freedom, we can understand better what Mandela did in order to prepare himself to advance the Struggle while confined in prison. There are some who, once imprisoned, throw themselves on the mercy of their jailers or spend their prison time purely consumed by their personal suffering. Now everyone suffered in prison, and there cannot be a minimising of the extent of suffering experienced by someone who was a life prisoner, who served 27 of those years, sometimes under very harsh conditions, experiencing or warding off assaults and arbitrary actions aimed at worsening their situation and breaking their spirit. Preoccupied with achieving freedom Part of the Mandela obstinacy was that he remained clear about his objectives, he remained preoccupied with achieving freedom, even in the darkest times. This is seen in some of his writings in prison, where it is clear that, as most political prisoners prided themselves, there was no way he could be 'rehabilitated' and made to accept one of the various offers to release him in return for conditions that amounted to renunciation of the Struggle. (The writing was not legally permitted and would be confiscated when found, as did happen when material was periodically discovered.) But Mandela's same stubbornness as unconditional dedication led him to change course when it was required, most dramatically when he initiated talks that led — together with the efforts of the exiled leadership — to the opening of negotiations and ultimately made political freedom possible. On being released he was very clear that he had to work in a manner that made the peace and made it last, even if it required compromises and symbolic gestures to supporters of apartheid, as in wearing the Springbok jersey (as a way of nation building) or visiting Betsie Verwoerd. Mandela was prepared to engage in a range of symbolic gestures or make concessions where these contributed towards the achievement of peace and freedom. DM Raymond Suttner served 11 years in prison and under house arrest. He was in the UDF, ANC and SACP leadership until the Jacob Zuma era. Suttner worked closely with Nelson Mandela in the 1990s. He is currently an emeritus professor at Unisa.
