The Durban High Court has dismissed Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla's application to have the criminal charges against her withdrawn, so the case over the July 2021 unrest will go on.
Zuma-Sambudla is accused of incitement to commit terrorism and public violence through her social media posts during the unrest. She is presumed innocent unless and until a court finds otherwise. This follows our earlier report that judgment was due on Friday.
What the application argued
According to reporting on the hearing, her side argued that the State's evidence against her was weak. Her lawyers had earlier described the claim that her posts incited the violence as "laughable", while the National Prosecuting Authority argued there were reasonable grounds on which she could be convicted.
What happens next
The matter has been stood down while counsel consider further court dates, according to the reporting. No new trial date had been confirmed at the time of writing.
Her father, former president Jacob Zuma, who leads the MK Party, was reportedly in court to support her.
What we do not yet know
- The name of the judge and the full reasoning for the ruling.
- The precise legal basis of the application, which has been described variously as a bid to have the charges withdrawn and a bid for discharge.
- When the trial will resume.
- Whether she will seek to challenge the ruling.
We will update this article once the written judgment and the next court date are confirmed.
