Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma, has pleaded not guilty to terrorism-related charges at the start of her trial in the port city of Durban.
She is being prosecuted over comments she made on social media four years ago during deadly protests in South Africa following the arrest of her father.
A week of anarchy in several parts of the country in July 2021, including looting and arson, left at least 300 people dead and caused damage worth an estimated $2.8 billion (£2.2 billion).
Zuma-Sambudla, 43, has been accused of fuelling this unrest and faces charges of incitement to commit terrorism and public violence.
The protests were concentrated in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal and followed the former president's arrest for disobeying a court order to testify at an inquiry into allegations of corruption while he was in power.
Ms. Zuma-Sambudla has always denied the charges against her, with her lawyer previously labelling the state's case as weak. She has also repeatedly stated that the charges were an attempt to settle political scores with her father after he established his own political party and campaigned against the ruling African National Congress (ANC).
This sentiment was echoed by the Jacob Zuma Foundation, which described the case as an abuse of power and a systematic campaign of political and familial harassment against the former president and his family.
A few supporters from her party, uMkhonto weSizwe, gathered outside the KwaZulu-Natal high court, while her father and other party leaders were present at the hearings inside.
