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Social media expert Emma Sadleir told court that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s tweets during the 2021 unrest amounted to a “call to action” amid the deadly riots.
A social media expert has stuck to her evidence under cross-examination that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s tweets during the 2021 unrest contributed to and encouraged the violence.
Emma Sadleir testified in the trial of former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter, who is facing charges of incitement to violence and sedition.
Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has pleaded not guilty.
The unrest, which claimed the lives of more than 350 people, broke out shortly after the former president was arrested to serve a sentence for being in contempt of the Constitutional Court.
PICTURES: The daughter of former President Jacob Zuma, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has returned to the Durban High Court for her trial to continue where she faces charges relating to the use of her social media account to incite the deadly July 2021 unrest. For more visit… pic.twitter.com/OD1odJL9RH
— SABC News (@SABCNews) April 13, 2026
Shortly after former President Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment in 2021, his daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, posted 28 tweets within 36 hours using the hashtag Free Jacob Zuma.
Social media expert Emma Sadleir differed from a defence expert’s conclusion that Zuma-Sambudla did not incite people to violence because she gave no clear instructions.
“There was a call for action by inciting others to act in the manner demonstrated, to urge, to stir up. An element of the incitement can be aiding, abetting, or encouraging. But really its a call to action for the viewers of the social media content to act in the manner depicted,” says Sadleir.
Sadleir said under cross-examination that the tweets all had the same format. It would say ‘We see you’ followed by scenes from various parts of KwaZulu-Natal. The tweets would end with Amandla, three fist emojis and exclamation marks.
WATCH | The trial of former MK Party MP Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is under way at the Durban High Court. The daughter of former President Jacob Zuma faces charges under the Terrorism Act, accused of inciting violence during the July 2021 unrest across parts of the country. pic.twitter.com/75PIrjhewd
— SABC News (@SABCNews) April 13, 2026
Sadleir testified that on social media, the phrase ‘We see you’ cannot be construed to be a translation of the isiZulu greeting ‘sawubona’.
“The phrase ‘we see you’ used in the context of the accused’s social media accounts is to show recognition, appreciation, admiration and gratitude. Now, in the context of some of the tweets depicting violence, recognition, appreciation, and gratitude are of violence, but sometimes it’s of other things,” she adds.
Sadleir told the court the tweets cannot be divorced from the events at the time. She testified Zuma’s daughter is both political royalty, as well as an influencer on social media with 360 000 followers.
“The context to which I refer is that it was not one tweet, but a series of tweets in 36 hours. We agreed that there were 28 tweets from the accused in those 36 hours primarily reflecting encouragement, jubilation and celebration of the unrest,” she says.
Acting for Zuma-Sambudla, Advocate Dali Mpofu grilled Sadleir, disputing her assertion that she is an independent witness and her assertion that she gathered all the evidence herself. Judge Mbuzeni Mathenjwa said these issues should be left for argument.
The trial continues.
VIDEO | Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s trial | 13 April 2026
