On 28 March 2024, the car in which former president Jacob Zuma was travelling in KwaZulu-Natal was involved in an accident. Or was it? Misinformation on all sides has been swirling around this incident.

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...