{"id":14621,"date":"2021-07-31T05:55:57","date_gmt":"2021-07-31T05:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amabhungane.org\/?post_type=stories&p=14621"},"modified":"2024-09-15T14:55:38","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T14:55:38","slug":"210730-insurrection-whatsapp-instigator-linked-to-zuma-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/210730-insurrection-whatsapp-instigator-linked-to-zuma-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Insurrection: WhatsApp \u2018instigator\u2019 linked to Zuma family"},"content":{"rendered":"

An ANC Youth League member who posted a video of trucks blocking a highway and a voice note calling on comrades to shut down other arterial routes was a business partner of one of Zuma\u2019s daughters.<\/p>\n

The video and voice<\/a> note were posted by Sanele Zakhele Masuku and were first exposed on social media on July 18 by a twitter account calling itself @CRSupporter and first reported on<\/a> July 30 in the Daily Maverick<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Now amaBhungane can reveal that Masuku is linked to the heart of the Zuma family, via a business, Thokozilethula, registered in 2017 together with Zuma\u2019s daughter Brumelda.<\/p>\n

According to Masuku, he met Brumelda at the University of Zululand, where she graduated in 2019. Recently she was filmed<\/a> offering support to her father at Nkandla ahead of his incarceration.<\/p>\n

Brumelda could not be reached for comment.<\/p>\n

If you like this story and want more, subscribe to our <\/em>newsletter<\/a><\/u><\/em> and be the first to get our latest news and investigations.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the video, a voice that appears to match Masuku\u2019s says, \u201cI\u2019m very busy\u2026 get Nxamalala [Zuma] out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch the video posted on Whatsapp<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The images show trucks blocking all lanes at what appears to be an intersection along the John Ross highway, between Empangeni and Richards Bay. Masuku\u2019s twitter handle<\/a> says he is based in Richard\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n

Then, a minute later, he posts a recording calling for other routes to be shut down.<\/p>\n

In Zulu, the voice says, \u201cSo, we ask you Comrades, that you must get up in your areas, even if it is just ten of you, and stop four trucks in the road and then you\u2019ll be done, and you can leave. Take the keys of those trucks; we thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recordings were posted to a WhatsApp group called \u201cFree Zuma Information\u201d, which includes Carl Niehaus and other prominent Zuma supporters.<\/p>\n

According to Daily Maverick<\/em> the group was first called \u201cFree Zuma Coordinators\u201d and later changed its name.<\/p>\n

Masuku confirmed to\u00a0both Daily Maverick <\/em>and amaBhungane<\/em> that he had posted the video, but said he had not been involved and denied the voice was his.<\/p>\n

He told amaBhungane he had merely posted the recordings as received.<\/p>\n

\u201cI forwarded the videos because I was also in the group. I don\u2019t remember how I got the link. I think I was in four other groups that were saying Free Jacob Zuma. I think I got that video from someone\u2019s status. If you look correctly in that video, you can see that it is screen recorded. I was sharing because videos were being shared by many people so I was also sharing what was happening on my side.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding the voice note, Masuku said, \u201cThat was not me. I got it from the other group and posted it on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, a technical expert consulted by amaBhungane said that if the voice note was forwarded or shared from somewhere else, it would not show Masuku\u2019s profile picture \u2013 as this one does.<\/p>\n

Masuku claims to have no relationship with former President Zuma. He said he and Brumelda Zuma \u201cused to go to the same school a long time ago\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said they were both at the University of Zululand where he did a Bachelor of Administration degree and the company they registered \u201cdid not go anywhere and we didn\u2019t do anything with it\u201d.<\/p>\n

The recordings and Masuku\u2019s link with Brumilda will increase the scrutiny of the role of members of the Zuma family in inciting the violence that cost some 337 lives, including numerous calls for Zuma\u2019s daughter to be charged.<\/p>\n

A twitter account linked to Duduzile posted numerous approving takes on incidents of shut-down and burning at the height of what President Cyril Ramaphosa has characterised as an attempted insurrection against the state.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The social media messages of a young KZN provocateur, who posted calls to shut down the highways, take us a step closer to the Zuma family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[680,414,681,682,683,684,685],"class_list":["post-14621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-brumelda-zuma","tag-carl-niehaus","tag-duduzile","tag-john-ross-highway","tag-sanele-zakhele-masuku","tag-thokozilethula","tag-unrest-in-kzn"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14621"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29981,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14621\/revisions\/29981"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/further.co.za\/amabwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}