Advocate Dali Mpofu SC asked why the State called a retired police translator to testify when Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s trial resumed in the Durban High Court on Monday.
Zuma-Sambudla is on trial over social media posts linked to the July 2021 unrest. The unrest followed the arrest of her father, former president Jacob Zuma.
The first witness on Monday morning was Dr Elli Khumalo-Simelane. She asked not to be shown in any photos, videos or livestream footage of the case, IOL reported.
Khumalo-Simelane worked as an isiZulu language practitioner at the police national head office in Pretoria before she retired. Her job included translating, interpreting and transcribing video clips and recordings from isiZulu into English.
She was asked in April 2022 to translate a social media post by Zuma-Sambudla. The State alleges the post encouraged unrest and looting in Durban and Johannesburg, in which more than 300 people were killed.
Mpofu asked why she was called to testify at all. He said she was a translator and could not say what Zuma-Sambudla meant with the tweet she is charged over. He said her written statement alone should have been enough.
“It is not our job to work out what the other person might have intended to say; our job is to interpret the language,” Khumalo-Simelane told the court.
The post on X, then called Twitter, read “Mooiplaza, we see you..Amandla!! #Free Jacob Zuma”.
The State argues that her online posts helped fuel a wave of looting, arson and damage. Shopping centres were ransacked, infrastructure was damaged and communities were left in fear, the State said.
Zuma-Sambudla faces three charges. These are one count of incitement to commit terrorism and two counts of incitement to commit public violence. She has denied the allegations.
On the first count, the State alleges she unlawfully and intentionally encouraged other people to take part in acts of terrorism. On the second, it alleges she incited people to gather unlawfully to forcibly disturb the public peace.
The third charge falls under Section 17 of the Riotous Assemblies Act. This section deals with people gathering unlawfully with the aim of causing a riot.
Zuma-Sambudla is a former member of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Party. She was arrested and charged in January 2025, and her trial began in November 2025.
In July 2021, Jacob Zuma handed himself over to police to serve a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. He had refused to appear before the commission investigating state capture.
His jailing led to riots in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. The looting caused losses of billions of rand.
The trial is scheduled to continue until 6 November.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL. Image: IOL. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice News desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Kgomotso Maake covers news and politics for Tzaneen Voice. Kgomotso reports on government, Parliament, municipalities, courts, crime and service delivery across South Africa, with a close eye on how national decisions reach towns like Tzaneen and the wider Limpopo province. Stories are written in plain English and focus on the facts: who made the decision, what it means, and what happens next.