Defence challenges police officer’s contradictions in Zuma-Sambudla trial
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL
At Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s trial in Durban, her lawyer Dali Mpofu questioned investigating officer Bheki Nazo about contradictions between his statements. The defence is seeking to challenge the basis of his conclusions in the investigation into the July 2021 violence, IOL reports.
At Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s trial, the defence challenged the reliability of the investigation on Tuesday, pointing to contradictions in statements by the police officer in charge of the case. Lawyer Dali Mpofu questioned detective Bheki Nazo at the Durban High Court, according to IOL.
The detective confirmed that by 15 July 2021 he had concluded that Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma, had taken part in a plot to provoke the violence. The defence also referred to a statement dated 6 January 2022 attributed to Brigadier Janine Steynberg, a South African digital forensics and cybercrime specialist, which allegedly influenced his assessment.
Mpofu argued that Nazo’s second and third statements repeated similar conclusions despite an acknowledged error in the first. He asked him to explain how the accounts could be reconciled and suggested that statements from people hostile to the accused had been given to him to sign. Nazo described as incorrect a sentence in his statement saying that Zuma-Sambudla would continue to incite violent riots if she were not arrested.
The case concerns social media posts that allegedly incited the deadly violence of July 2021 in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces. Zuma-Sambudla denies the charges. The defence had previously argued that no direct evidence links her to the 2021 violence.
