Durban High Court hears evidence that key social media posts were deleted after forensic examination in Zuma-Sambudla incitement case
Durban – Explosive testimony in the Durban High Court has revealed that several social media posts allegedly used to incite violence during the July 2021 unrest were deleted from Twitter (now X) – including posts from the account of Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla – after law enforcement had already begun preserving evidence.
Brigadier Janine Steynberg, the State’s third witness and a seasoned digital forensic investigator with the South African Police Service, told the court on Monday that there was a “real threat” of crucial evidence disappearing once investigations intensified.
“Many of them on many of these accounts indeed were deleted. This was after my first inspection,” Steynberg testified before Judge Mahendra Moodley. “Over many of the accounts that I investigated, including this one, some of the tweets were indeed deleted after my initial inspection, my lord.”
Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former president Jacob Zuma and a current Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party Member of Parliament, has pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting violence and contravening the Cybercrimes Act during the deadly 2021 riots that claimed more than 350 lives and caused billions of rands in damage.
The State alleges that a series of tweets, videos and images posted by the accused in July 2021 intentionally and unlawfully encouraged members of the public to engage in violent protest action in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Despite the deletions on the public platform, Steynberg explained that investigators were able to secure the original content through screenshots, archived web captures, and formal preservation requests sent to Twitter before the posts were removed.
The revelation that posts were deleted only after police had already flagged and preserved them is likely to feature prominently in the State’s argument that the accused may have been aware of the criminal nature of the material.
The trial continues.