Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla backs Lindiwe Sisulu as clip praising the constitution resurfaces

Former president Jacob Zuma's daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, has backed tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu, amid the backlash over her controversial opinion piece.

In her opinion piece, titled “Hi Mzansi, have we seen justice?", Sisulu took shots at the judiciary and legislative framework of the land. Acting chief justice Raymond Zondo slammed the piece, saying it was an insult to the entire judiciary and suggested that action be taken.

Zuma-Sambudla took to social media to make it clear she stood by Sisulu.

“We see you ... Amandla”, she captioned a picture of Sisulu. 

Zuma-Sambudla's staunch support for Sisulu comes as a video of the tourism minister praising SA’s constitution resurfaced on social media.

In a clip from her address to the media at the UN in 2018, Sisulu spoke about the expropriation of land without compensation.

She praised the constitution as a “democratic instrument” that would result in positive changes for the public. 

“Our constitution is a democratic instrument adopted by parliament. It allows us to expropriate land so that we are able to give land to people who will work on the land,” said Sisulu at the time. 

“This constitution, which allows and guides us to expropriate land, was in [Nelson] Mandela's hands and his signature is on it. What we are doing is the democratic responsibility of a democratic government, to make sure that all have access to land so that they have the means to live.”

The clip was shared on social media as many users debated Sisulu's comments about the judiciary and constitution.

In her piece, Sisulu claimed the constitution did not work for masses of Africans who languished in poverty and accused politicians of engaging in “stomach politics” at the expense of the poor.

“The most dangerous African today is the mentally colonised African. And when you put them in leadership positions or as interpreters of the law, they are worse than your oppressor. They have no African or Pan African-inspired ideological grounding. Some are confused by foreign belief systems,” said Sisulu. 

Zondo condemned Sisulu's comments, claiming Sisulu had no facts to back up her claims.

“That such a senior member who serves in the two arms of the state, namely parliament and the executive, should see fit to insult the justices of the Constitutional Court, the judges of the Supreme Court of Appeal and judges of the high courts is most regrettable,” said Zondo.

Sisulu also gained support from Zuma's spokesperson, Mzwanele Manyi, who claimed Sisulu is “the biggest threat” to President Cyril Ramaphosa's campaign for a second term as ANC president.