Duduzile Zuma's name comes up in Hawks' July riots investigation

The daughter of former president Jacob Zuma, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, has been named in a statement obtained by the Hawks relating to the July unrest.

Hawks spokesperson Brig Thandi Mbambo told TimesLIVE they were not directly investigating her but she had been named in certain statements from sources.

When questioned whether she would be investigated by the Hawks, Mbambo replied: “Sort of, but not really. She has been named in certain statements which we have obtained. We are not investigating her directly.”

Her name had on more than one occasion been mentioned in relation to the promotion of violence during unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last year.

She was very active on social media during the riots, posting pictures of trucks burning, looting and fiery blockades and congratulatory messages to those behind millions of rand worth of damage during violent protests and national road closures in KwaZulu-Natal as part of the Free Jacob Zuma campaign.

Zuma-Sambudla also took a swipe at President Cyril Ramaphosa on social media, defending the “criminal elements”.

She uploaded a video of gunfire directed at a poster bearing Ramaphosa's face during the height of the unrest. The post has now been removed.

TimesLIVE can reveal that the Hawks operation is expected to result in more than 85 arrests, with some suspects already having agreed to hand themselves over to authorities.

The operation, which was set in motion during the early hours of Thursday, is expected to run until Sunday, with dozens of Hawks members deployed to the province.

A group of 22 people appeared in the Durban magistrate's court on Friday as part of the operation. The Hawks said 64 more arrests were expected over the next few days.

Ntokozo Ngcobo, ANCYL deputy secretary in the eThekwini region, said they were supporting their “comrades” who had been arrested.

“There are prominent people that everyone saw instigating all over the country but they were not arrested. Instead it's only these people,” he said.

Free State mother Thandie Lekoana, who came to support her son Sipho Tshezi, said she was puzzled by her son's arrest.

“I don't know how something that happened in KZN implicates my son who lives in Parys [in the Free State]. We were watching with my son during the KZN unrest [on television] and there were no indications that my son was instigating people to loot. How can he influence thousands of people in other provinces, people he doesn't even know, to loot?”

She said police stormed into her house on Thursday with guns.

“It was like we were watching a movie: they came with 'guns blazing', breaking through my fence and broke the front door, leaving my grandchildren traumatised. It was like they were arresting a high-risk criminal.

“This has to be revisited, as I think the law is shielding real culprits by arresting those who know nothing. I used R1,500 to travel from Free State to KZN and also borrowed R3,000 to bail him out, while I'm a person living with a chronic illness.

“I am appealing to the law authorities to arrest those who are real instigators and leave these people.”

* Additional reporting by Lwazi Hlangu

TimesLIVE

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