Mdumiseni Zuma, a 36-year-old South African man who led protests in July 2021 after former President Jacob Zuma's arrest, has been sentenced to 12 years in jail.
The Pietermaritzburg Magistrate's Court in the province of KwaZulu-Natal said on Wednesday that Mdumiseni had been implicated.
The convict is among 65 people who were arrested after South Africa's fourth president Zuma was arrested on July 7, 2021 for contempt of court in a corruption suit.
The president had been sentenced to 15 months in prison over the offence.
Deadly violence
Pockets of violence broke out in several parts of the country, pushing for Zuma's release.
At least 350 people died in the protests, according to official figures, and infrastructure valued at 50 billion South African rand ($3.4 billion) was destroyed. More than 150,000 jobs were affected, the court heard.
Mdumiseni, a father of three, who is not related to the former president, was arrested in August 2021.
Investigations indicated that he video-recorded himself on phone asking people to loot and set on fire the Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg. He thereafter shared the video on his WhatsApp status.
Crime 'serious in nature'
In his defense, he said he recorded the video under the influence of alcohol.
Magistrate Morne Cannon described Mdumiseni's offence as "serious in nature."
"Plainly put, the accused must be sentenced as though he personally set the Brookside Mall on fire," the magistrate said.
According to court documents, the mall incurred losses of up to half a billion rand ($33.9 million).
Cannon said Mdumiseni's 12-year jail sentence would "deter others from committing similar crimes."
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