Mdumiseni Khetha Zuma was convicted in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court last Friday (September 8) of contravening Sections 17 and 18 of the Riotous Assemblies Act, in that he had incited people to gather and commit public violence.
While he pleaded not guilty to charges of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act, including inciting public violence and arson, a video he released via WhatsApp exposed his intentions. Zuma had made the video, pertaining to the Brookside Mall, on July 11, 2021, and distributed it on the WhatsApp platform, said Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, regional spokesperson for the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) division of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
“The charges relate to the incidents of looting and public violence, which occurred in July 2021 in parts of the country, especially in KZN. During this time, the Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg was looted and burnt to the ground,” said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
Zuma, 36, was a former security guard at the mall who had been. fired from his job after he got into an argument with his employer. This was before the riots.
It was estimated that the damage to Brookside Mall ran into billions.
During the judgment, the presiding officer found that Zuma’s WhatsApp video could have caused people to commit public violence, she added. This was also based on Zuma’s own admission during his testimony, that if he received a message similar to the one he released, he too would have taken action to commit public violence, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.
Senior advocate Yuri Gangai, who led the prosecution, called three witnesses – police Captain Mlungisi Sibisi, department of justice court interpreter Khulekani Mzotha and Mayimane Shezi, who translated the audio in a video from Zulu to English. In the video Zuma called on people to destroy Brookside Mall. All three witnesses agreed that the video suggested to people that the mall should be destroyed or damaged.
The case was postponed to October 9 for pre-sentencing reports and Zuma remains in custody, said Ms Ramkisson-Kara.