2021 WRAP | Five times Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla sparked controversy this year
Image: Thapelo Morebudi/Sunday Times
Former president Jacob Zuma's daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, had the TL red hot this year with her comments.
At the height of the July unrest, Zuma-Sambudla was accused of inciting violence and mobilising supporters of the former president to protest against his arrest.
Here’s a wrap of the controversies that surrounded her this year:
ANC wants Zuma-Sambudla to explain her tweets
In July, the ruling party’s deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said Zuma-Sambudla would be called to account for her tweets which were interpreted by some as incitement of violence.
Sharing videos of violent incidents in parts of KwaZulu-Natal which took place after the former president’s arrest, Zuma-Sambudla captioned some of the videos “let it burn”, which Duarte said was clearly incitement.
A swipe at Ramaphosa
In another July Twitter spat aimed at President Cyril Ramaphosa, Zuma-Sambudla defended protesters who had looted businesses and destroyed properties, saying they were not criminals, but citizens revolting against unemployment.
Haters must ‘get over’ Zuma’s medical parole
As Zuma's critics opposed his medical parole, Zuma-Sambudla took to Twitter to poke fun at them. In one post she said: “Haters must heal.”
“It’s [former] President Zuma Day, all day! “Every day is [former] President Zuma Day. Like it or not!” she tweeted in another.
Choose Ramaphosa or the ANC
In the lead up to the local government elections, Zuma-Sambudla said ANC supporters could not rescue the ANC and Ramaphosa at the same time, saying “one has to go”.
“Fact, you can’t rescue both President Ramaphosa and the ANC at the same time, one has to go. You choose,” said Zuma-Sambudla in one tweet.
The tweet was met with mixed responses from Twitter users. Some defended Ramaphosa, saying he had no vendetta against the former president, while others said Zuma was equally responsible for the “downfall” of the ANC.
Why is Ramaphosa visiting Eswatini?
The president's visit to Eswatini last month was met with yet another jibe from Zuma-Sambudla. She said Ramaphosa should not have left the country amid vote counting after the local government elections.