Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s absence at Jacob Zuma’s Arms Deal trial marks a significant shift in their longstanding father-daughter dynamic, previously anchored in unwavering support. Her retreat coincides with serious allegations of her involvement in recruiting mercenaries to fight for Russia, escalating legal and political tensions. When Jacob Zuma emerged from the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday, 4 December 2025, to greet a throng of supporters in the latest episode of the Arms Deal corruption trial, conspicuous by her absence was Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla.
For a solid two decades, she had been more than a pillar of strength to her father during the most trying of times. Without her critical intervention when Zuma was charged with rape 20 years ago, he probably would never have become president of the African National Congress in 2007 and of South Africa two years later. It was her testimony as a defence witness that persuaded Judge Willem van der Merwe to accept Zuma’s version of events during a trial that polarised society.
It drew attention to a bond between a daughter, then 23 years old, and a man who would forever be in the spotlight of South African politics, for better or worse. That Zuma walked alone in court last week did not signal that Zuma-Sambudla had, as have many former comrades, also deserted him. It pointed to a daughter firmly on course to inherit a legacy of dogged defiance, legal wrangles, political misjudgement, intriguing machinations and personal traits that polarise those around them.
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While her father appeared in court, more evidence emerged of her alleged active involvement in the recruitment of 17 men duped into fighting on the Russian side against Ukraine. Relatives demanding answers from the uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party protested outside the Durban City Hall. Her half-sister, Nkosazana Bonganini Zuma-Mncube, has also laid human trafficking and fraud charges against her. Like her father, who had to step aside from active political leadership many years ago to attend to his legal woes, Zuma-Sambudla hasresignedas a Member of Parliament and chairperson of the Southern Caucus of the Pan-African Parliament to help bring the recruits back.
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