'State targets Zuma's family'

FOUNDATION: 'PERSECUTION OF STATESMAN CRUEL'

- Itumeleng Mafisa

Former president Jacob Zuma’s family is being targeted by the state, his foundation claimed.

Just hours before her appearance in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban yesterday, the foundation alleged authorities were after Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, Zuma’s daughter.

She is accused of inciting violence in the July 2021 unrest, leading to the death of 300 people and billions worth of damage to infrastructure and the economy.

The unrest happened days after her father was arrested for failing to obey orders from the Constitutional Court.

Zuma-Sambudla pleaded not guilty.

"The state’s case against Ms Zuma-Sambudla rests on a bizarre premise: that her social media posts during July 2021 somehow incited unrest," said the Jacob Zuma Foundation.

"In truth, her posts were reactive commentaries to events already unfolding, as millions of South Africans expressed anguish and frustration at the unlawful imprisonment of a liberation hero.

"It defies logic to claim that impoverished communities, many without access to food, smartphones or data, were mobilised into action by Twitter posts."