The Durban High Court has heard that at least 164 WhatsApp groups were created and connected to coordinate actions and incite violence during the deadly July 2021 unrest that followed the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma.
Zuma’s Daughter on Trial for Incitement
The revelation came during the trial of Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma Sambudla, which began on Monday. She faces charges of terrorism and incitement to commit public violence related to the riots that erupted after her father’s arrest.
Zuma Sambudla has pleaded not guilty to all charges. The unrest, which swept across parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, left more than 300 people dead and caused widespread destruction estimated to have cost the economy billions of rand.
State Describes Coordinated Acts of Violence
According to the state, the civil unrest involved widespread crimes including looting, arson, murder, destruction of property and the burning of trucks.
The court heard that the violence began shortly after Zuma handed himself over to the Estcourt Correctional Centre on 7 July 2021, following a Constitutional Court ruling that found him guilty of contempt of court.
“On July 8, reactions to his incarceration, both in support of and against the decision, led to the start of the unrest,” the state told the court. Trucks were stoned, burned and destroyed as chaos spread.
Social Media Used to Coordinate Unrest
Investigators said communication across provinces was carefully coordinated through social media platforms, particularly WhatsApp. They identified a total of 164 chat groups created specifically to transmit instructions and coordinate actions between national and local participants.
Some of these groups were established even before Zuma’s arrest, shortly after the Constitutional Court delivered its ruling on 29 June 2021.
Eight Key WhatsApp Groups Identified
The state said eight main groups played a central role in providing leadership, issuing directions and encouraging violent protests and looting. From those eight, four were prioritised for investigation, leading to the identification of 103 individuals linked to messages encouraging violence and other criminal acts.
The court was told that investigators could identify the names, creation dates, number of participants and regions of activity for each group. Advocate Dali Mpofu, who represents Zuma Sambudla, did not object to the evidence being presented.
Among the key groups named by the state were:
- Chat 36: “Under the New Political Landscape” – 106 participants, created on 4 August 2021 in Bloemfontein.
- Chat 129: “INK Shutdown” – 84 participants, created on 7 July 2021 in the Inanda, Ntuzuma and KwaMashu areas.
- Chat 134: “eThekwini Shutdown” – 316 participants, created on 8 July 2021, focused on the Durban Metro region.
- Chat 135: “3 Zuma Coordinators” – 204 participants, created on 8 July 2021, identified as a national coordination group.
- Chat 147: “ANC Factional Metro” – 187 participants, created on 4 July 2021, national in scope.
- Chat 148: “EMTF Stop” – 222 participants, created on 2 July 2021 in Cape Town.
- Chat 152: “KR1 Jacob Zuma Supporters” – 280 participants, created on 29 June 2021, the date of the Constitutional Court ruling.
- “Zuma Real Activists 100 Percent” – 334 participants, created on 1 July 2021 in Gauteng.
Network Operated Across Provinces
Prosecutors said the network of WhatsApp groups demonstrated clear coordination between national and provincial levels, with instructions being passed down from higher-level organisers to individuals on the ground.
“It shows that high-level information was filtered to provincial levels and disseminated to ground forces,” the state told the court, describing the network as part of a “criminal value chain” behind the unrest.
However, the state confirmed that Zuma Sambudla herself was not a participant in any of the WhatsApp groups mentioned in court.
Trial Ongoing
The trial continues in the Durban High Court.
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