The incitement trial of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla in the Durban High Court has focused on two words: "We See You". The State alleges that her posts on X helped fuel the deadly July 2021 unrest. She pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent.
The trial resumed on Monday and is scheduled to continue until 6 November. Reports of the cross-examination of the State's digital law expert show the defence challenging both what the phrase means and whether the expert's evidence should be admitted.
The charges and the State's case
Zuma-Sambudla faces one count of incitement to commit terrorism and two counts of incitement to commit public violence. The State alleges that her social media posts encouraged violence after her father, former president Jacob Zuma, was imprisoned. She denies the charges.
The court has examined the phrase "We See You" in several of her 28 posts on X at issue in the case. One report says the trial began in November 2025.
The cross-examination
Digital law expert Emma Sadleir testified for the State, and advocate Dali Mpofu cross-examined her for the defence. According to reports, she said the phrase could mean recognition or admiration but, paired with violent content, could be read as encouraging violence. She said she never claimed every use was linked to violence.
Mpofu argued that "We See You" directly translates the Zulu greeting Sanibona. Sadleir disputed that the English phrase carries the same meaning on social media. He asked whether Zuma-Sambudla intended to promote violence.
Mpofu also sought to exclude Sadleir's evidence because the document she gave the court was a memorandum for the Hawks, not a formal expert report. Sadleir said a trial report would contain the same findings.
What happens next
The trial is scheduled to continue until 6 November, two days after the 4 November local government elections. The charges concern posts made during the unrest that followed Jacob Zuma's imprisonment in July 2021, and the State must prove them.
