Fact Check – was former president Jacob Zuma targeted in a recent car accident?

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On the one side of the social media narrative, some prominent X users claimed the accident was staged, posting photos purporting to show minimal damage to a car. These photos are unverified, although a Google image reverse search does not show them linked to any other accident.

On the other side of the narrative, it did not take long for MK, the political party launched by Zuma in December 2023, to claim that the accident was an attempted hit on him.

MK party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela was quoted in the media as saying: “This looks like an attempt to assassinate President Zuma.”

MK head of elections Musa Mkhize told the SABC that the party suspected “foul play”, since they had previously received warnings that Zuma would be in hospital before election day.

Where does the truth lie?

The police have confirmed that a car containing Zuma did get into an accident on 28 March near Eshowe.

They said “a motor vehicle collided with the former president’s official armoured state vehicle”, and that “a 51-year-old alleged drunk driver has since been arrested for the incident and his blood samples have been taken for further testing as police investigations continue”.

The suspect, who has not been named, is reportedly a first-time offender who has already appeared in the Eshowe Magistrates’ Court and been released on R500 bail.

Police have not given any indication that there is anything behind the incident other than alleged drunk driving. Given that South Africa has one of the worst road safety records in the world, this should not be too hard to swallow. 

This is not the first time claims have been made about Zuma and assassination attempts. The former president has himself alleged on at least three separate occasions that he has been the victim of attempted poisoning. One of the alleged poisoners was his estranged wife, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma, who was banned from Zuma’s Nkandla home in 2015 for allegedly conspiring to poison him – but the National Prosecuting Authority said later that, based on its investigation, there was no evidence that Zuma had been poisoned at all. 

In summary: It seems certain that Zuma’s car did indeed get into an accident, and there is no evidence that this was staged. But there is also no evidence currently that the incident was part of any kind of targeted political act of violence. DM