Durban – The KwaZulu-Natal High Court on Monday continued hearing evidence in the trial of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, who is accused of inciting violence and terrorism during the July 2021 unrest.
Hawks cybercrime expert Janine Kollette Steynberg testified that Zuma-Sambudla’s verified X account shifted from personal content to political messaging in early 2021, increasingly focused on defending her father, former president Jacob Zuma.
Steynberg confirmed the authenticity of Zuma-Sambudla’s real X account and noted that while her early posts were personal, they later included political commentary, calls for support, and posts using hashtags like #FreeZuma.
Steynberg detailed how Zuma-Sambudla publicly engaged with EFF leader Julius Malema in February 2021, after he tagged Jacob Zuma requesting a tea meeting.
[In Pictures]: The CIC @Julius_S_Malema at the Former President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma’s Homestead in Nkandla, having TEA. pic.twitter.com/1JzFNz2lIw
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) February 5, 2021
Zuma-Sambudla later posted photos of Malema’s visit to Nkandla, which sparked a series of political “tea party” visits by other high-profile figures.
According to Steynberg, this period marked the start of her increasingly political posts, which later evolved into calls for support for her father, including slogans like “Amandla” and #FreeZuma.
One translated tweet — suggesting that the “time to fight with mobile phones is over” — raised concern as potentially encouraging action beyond social media, he said.
“That was [when] I got concerned because that was the first time that I understood it [to be] a request perhaps to say ‘let’s stop doing this on social media’ and that might have led some of the incidents and violence that happened,” Steynberg said, referring to the 29 June post.
The court also examined public comments under her posts, some warning that her messages could lead to violence or “bloodshed”. Defence lawyer Dali Mpofu objected to these comments being used as evidence, calling them hearsay, while the prosecution argued they demonstrated public reaction to her posts.
Testimony also detailed how Zuma-Sambudla promoted the widely publicised “tea party” meetings at Nkandla involving political figures.
The court will rule later on whether the social media comments are admissible as evidence.
Duduzile Sambudla-Zuma returns to Durban High Court today,
Representing her is Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, who is prepared to Prove the Courts Wrong In their False accusationsDespite the rain, supporters came out in Numbers To support one of their own demonstrating Solidarity… pic.twitter.com/j1157ivrVC
— uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (Official) (@MkhontoweSizwex) November 17, 2025
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
