Durban - Former Msunduzi Municipality (Pietermaritzburg) deputy mayor Thobani Zuma was among those spotted at the Durban High Court on Tuesday for the criminal trial of Zandile Gumede and 21 other accused.
Gumede, the former eThekwini Mayor and current ANC eThekwini Region Chairperson, faces a string of charges relating to a Durban Solid Waste unit tender, which was awarded during her term in 2017.
The charges, though, have not deterred her backers from coming to court in a show of support. On Monday, a day that marked the start of the case, scores of people, including religious leaders, came to demonstrate their support for the former mayor, and although they were not there on Tuesday, the ANC eThekwini Region’s top brass were out in support of Gumede.
Senior members such as ANC eThekwini Deputy Secretary Nkosenhle Madlala, eThekwini Municipality exco member Zama Sokhabase and councillor Ntando Khuzwayo were some of the figures in attendance on Tuesday.
The former Msunduzi deputy mayor said there was nothing foreign about an individual from the province’s capital coming to Durban to support a fellow comrade.
“There is nothing wrong with me exercising my right of demonstrating my support to comrade Gumede,” Zuma said yesterday.
In the past, Super Zuma, who comes from the KZN Midlands, has also been spotted during Gumede’s court appearances, in what some have suggested is a demonstration of the ties between the Zuma clan and Gumede.
Gumede and her 21 co-accused have so far pleaded not guilty to any charges levelled by the State against them, as the case continues.