Duduzile sings Putin’s praises amid report she was a ‘super influencer’ for Russian campaign

Former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has hailed Russian President Vladimir Putin as “Africa’s saviour”, as a study found she acted as a “super influencer” for a Russian campaign to strengthen support for its invasion of Ukraine.

Bloomberg reported social media research, conducted by the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), alleged Zuma-Sambudla was at the forefront of Russia’s drive to sway public opinion to its side in South Africa and beyond. 

Tweets bearing her name and the hashtags #IStandWithRussia and #IStandWithPutin were reused in other regions during the campaign.

CIR vice-president Nina Jankowicz said: “The evidence is compelling. She [Zuma-Sambudla] was a clear driver of the campaign and the origin point for many of the tweets that were replicated around the South African information environment, and eventually even further afield.” 

As the study was shared online, Zuma-Sambudla sang Putin’s praises.

“President Putin is Africa’s saviour and Africans will finally be able to save ourselves. Thank You Russia,” she said. 

At the height of the Russia-Ukraine conflict last year, Zuma-Sambudla’s Twitter profile was reported for its comments on the war. The social media network apparently found she did not break any rules. 

“We have investigated the reported content and have found it is not subject to removal under the Twitter rules or German law,” a notice from Twitter, shared by Zuma-Sambudla, read.

Zuma-Sambudla also made it clear she was standing with Putin, and shared pictures of herself in front of the Peterhof Palace in St Petersburg.

“Someone please tell my good friend Mbakz that I have just landed in Russia. He has still blocked me,” she wrote. 

Former president Jacob Zuma released a statement siding with Russia on the conflict.

He said he fully supported Putin, claiming he had been consistent in his stance against the eastern expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) into Ukraine.

Zuma said Putin was provoked by reported attempts to include Ukraine in the alliance.

“Ukraine and Russia are separated only by a line on the map and not by the Baltic Sea — why is this complicated to understand? If forces, globally known to be hostile to the US, were known to be establishing the presence of any sort in any of the adjacent territories, the US would certainly act in a manner that it believes would neutralise such a perceived threat,” he said.

Zuma claimed Russia and Ukraine could have solved their issues amicably had it not been for the intervention of “Western powers”.

“I am certain that his excellency Vladimir Putin will reciprocate and will bring in all his power to make peace a reality, as I know him to be a man of peace who has worked hard to ensure peace and stability across the globe,” he said.

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