Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla trial: State alleges 164 WhatsApp groups coordinated July unrest

The Durban High Court heard on Monday that about 164 WhatsApp groups were created and connected to give directions and incite violence during the deadly July 2021 unrest.

This was revealed by the State in the trial of former President Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, which began on Monday in the Durban High Court. 

Zuma-Sambudla pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism and incitement to commit public violence linked to the riots sparked by her father Jacob Zuma’s arrest.

The July unrest and looting followed Zuma’s imprisonment for contempt of court, which led his supporters to demand his release in July 2021. 

Zuma-Sambudla is accused of using social media to incite public violence. The unrest left more than 300 people dead and caused damage costing the economy billions of rand.

The state testified that the civil unrest involved multiple crimes, including looting, arson, destruction of property, murder, and truck burnings.

“There was a broad range of crimes committed between 8 July and the evening of July 15,” the state said.

“Our initial investigations revealed that, following the Constitutional Court ruling resulting in former President Zuma’s incarceration, he handed himself in on the evening of July 7, 2021, to the Estcourt Correctional Services.”

The state said the violence began the following day.

“On July 8, as a result of that incarceration, there were different reactions - both support for and opposition to Zuma’s imprisonment - that led to the start of the unrest,” the state said.

They argued that this led to trucks being stoned, burned, and destroyed.

Investigators found that communication across provinces and the country was coordinated through social media platforms.

“There were a total of 164 WhatsApp social media chat groups created for the sole purpose of communicating from a high level to ground forces,” the state said.

Some of the groups had been created even before July 7, 2021, following the Constitutional Court’s finding on June 29, 2021. 

Of these, investigators identified eight main WhatsApp groups responsible for providing direction, leadership, and encouraging violent protests and looting.

From those eight, the state narrowed its focus to four key groups, identifying 103 persons of interest linked to posts encouraging or inciting violence, looting, and other criminal acts.

The state said it could name the groups, their creation dates, number of participants, and regions of activity. 

Zuma-Sambudla’s legal team, led by Advocate Dali Mpofu SC, did not object.

“Although we have no objection, my Lord, I just wanted to place on record that this is the statement I referred to earlier, which was only completed last week,” Mpofu said.

The state presented evidence outlining the eight key WhatsApp groups:

- Chat 36: “Under the New Political Landscape” – 106 participants, no persons of interest. It was created on August 4, 2021 at 22:43 in Bloemfontein.

- Chat 129: “INK Shutdown” – 84 participants, 16 persons of interest. The group was created on July 7, 2021 at 11:31 in KwaZulu-Natal (Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu).

- Chat 134: “eThekwini Shutdown” – 316 participants, 30 persons of interest. The group was July 8, 2021 at 12:06, focused on Durban Metro.

-Chat 135: “3 Zuma Coordinators” – 204 participants, 38 persons of interest. The group was on July 8, 2021 at 10:18. National coordination group.

- Chat 147: “ANC Factional Metro” – 187 participants, no persons of interest. It was created on July 4, 2021 at 20:42. National-based group.

- Chat 148: “EMTF Stop” – 222 participants, no persons of interest. Created July 2, 2021 at 20:44 in Cape Town.

- Chat 152: “KR1 Jacob Zuma Supporters” – 280 participants, no persons of interest. Created 29 June 2021 at 22:43, the date of the Constitutional Court ruling.

- “Zuma Real Activists 100%” – 334 participants, 19 persons of interest. Created July 1, 2021 at 23:50 in Gauteng.

The state said the eight groups showed clear coordination between national and provincial levels.

“It shows that high-level information was filtered to provincial levels and disseminated to ground forces,” the state told the court.

The state argued that this network formed part of what it termed a “criminal value chain” behind the unrest. 

However, it further mentioned that the accused, Zuma-Sambundla was not in those groups mentioned.

The trial continues.

IOL