In 2021, a former security guard, Mdumiseni Zuma, was handed a 12-year prison sentence by a South African court for sparking deadly riots in support of former President Jacob Zuma.
This marks the first conviction related to the unrest triggered by Jacob Zuma’s arrest.
Mdumiseni Zuma, unrelated to the former president, played a role in sharing a video that encouraged people to loot and set fire to a shopping mall.
The riots resulted in a tragic toll, with at least 350 fatalities, making it the most severe unrest in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who assumed office in 2018 succeeding Jacob Zuma, labeled the violence as an “attempted insurrection.”
Supporters of the ex-president were particularly incensed by his imprisonment for contempt, stemming from his refusal to cooperate with a corruption inquiry during his presidency.
The unrest initially erupted in KwaZulu-Natal, a political stronghold of Jacob Zuma, before spreading to the economic hub of Gauteng.
Over 200 shopping malls were looted, and the estimated job loss exceeded 150,000 during the multi-day upheaval.
Mdumiseni Zuma, employed as a security guard in Pietermaritzburg’s Brookside Mall during the riots, was accused of creating and distributing an inflammatory video urging an attack on the mall.
Despite his claim that it was a “drunk prank,” the court dismissed this defense.
Although Zuma did not actively participate in the attack, the magistrate, Morné Cannon, ruled that he should be held responsible for the consequences of the provocative video.
“The accused’s actions had far-reaching consequences. Not only was the Brookside Mall set alight, lives and livelihoods were lost,” remarked Magistrate Cannon.
Looking forward, an additional 65 suspects are set to appear in court in January in connection with the 2021 unrest.
Jacob Zuma, who resigned in 2018 after nine years in office amid corruption allegations, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for refusing to testify before a panel investigating financial improprieties during his presidency.
However, he was released on medical parole just two months into his sentence.
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