The woman behind the infamous Twitter account  @African Soil –  “Sphithiphithi Evaluator” has been unmasked as a former bank employee who lived in Bloemfontein before relocating to Johannesburg.

Zamaswazi Zinhle Majozi,36, of Leondale, Germiston in Ekurhuleni, became the 18th person to be arrested on charges of incitement of public violence after the looting of shops that started in KwaZulu-Natal and spread to Gauteng in July as a reaction to the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma.

Another suspect, a 35-year-old man, also appeared on Monday at the Pietermaritzburg magistrate's court  in a session held in camera as an identity parade is due to be held soon.

Sowetan has established that Majozi, whose lawyer told the court owned a company with her husband, actually owned two companies. According to a company search, Majozi and her husband jointly owned a communications firm and a catering company.

Both companies are operating from Leondale where the couple has been residing since 2018. Majozi moved to Johannesburg with her husband in 2011. The couple could not be reached for comment last night as their phones rang unanswered.

Hawks spokesperson Col Katlego Mogale said Majozi, who is a staunch Zuma supporter, was arrested on Saturday for inciting public violence using her Twitter account which has 67,900 followers.

“In the content she circulated on her social media accounts which resulted in the looting and burning that occurred at Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg.”

At the time police could not say which tweets were inciting, however, Sowetan also discovered last night all her tweets before August 15 this year had been deleted. The mother of two appeared at the Germiston magistrate's court yesterday where she was granted R3,000 bail with conditions that she surrenders her passport and reports to the nearest police station daily.

But her court appearance was thrown into controversy after journalists were asked to apply to report on her case with her identity and photos. The magistrate asked the media to apply for permission which was opposed by Majozi's unnamed lawyer.

NPA spokesperson Phindi Mjonondwane said they were unable to release Majozi’s identity as there was a pending judgment on the matter.

“The media had made an application to publish her identity and the defence lawyer opposed it. The court reserved judgment for 18 October. We [NPA] cannot publish her name until the court has indicated what should be done. The NPA does not decide but the magistrate,” said Mjonondwane. 

Majozi’s lawyer refused to divulge any information about his client. In court there were no friends or relatives who came to support her as she made her first appearance. The case was postponed to October 18 for further investigations.

Majozi was trending on Twitter for the better part of yesterday, and had countless people on Twitter issuing their support for her.

“We welcome back Zamaswazi Majozi; Thina we are people of Zamaswazi Majozi through and through, a force to be reckoned with; we stand with Zamaswazi Majozi…#Sphithiphithi Evaluator… We love her, she is us. The Dictator won’t win,” were some of the many supportive posts written about her.