The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) released its report into the July 2021 unrest that unfolded in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), during which some 350 people lost their lives.
The violence and destruction caused damage to infrastructure and businesses costing South Africa’s economy R50 billion, with two million jobs being lost or affected.
SAHRC Commissioner Philile Ntuli said the commission found that myriad factors contributed to the outbreak of destruction and violence during the riots.
“The violence and destruction were symptomatic of unresolved systemic conditions, including post-COVID-19 economic recovery, high unemployment, lawlessness, discrimination, socio-economic divides, and issues within the security sector.
The investigation revealed significant deficiencies in law enforcement, specifically within the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the involvement of Private Security Companies (PSCs).
These include lapses in intelligence coordination, inadequate preparedness, poor resource management, and a lack of community engagement in justice processes.
The role of private security companies and their regulatory body, PSIRA, also came under scrutiny for their failure to adhere to legal and human rights standards.
Ntuli said the evidence indicates that there’s been a breakdown in communication in the police between crime intelligence, the national commissioner, and the minister of police. The state’s intelligence approaches to the unrest have proven to be ineffective.
“Excessive secrecy, insufficient resources and a lack of technological capabilities appear to have been a cause of a failure to protect and respond effectively to the planned unrest and contribute effectively to stabilising the situation,” said Ntuli.
Ntuli described the unrest as a well-orchestrated as a result of a violent culmination of deep-rooted political and social challenges that South Africa had been facing.
“The unrest was largely attributed to typologies of organisation and orchestration of public discord, crime, and protest. Evidence indicated that the acts during the unrest were well-orchestrated, including the blocking of the N3, destruction of factories and warehouses, attack on government communication facilities, and bombing and theft of ATMs. These events were interconnected and required significant resources.”
“The Commission concluded that organised groups and individuals opportunistically exploited these conditions to attempt to usurp the rule of law,” Ntuli said.
Ntuli said while evidence suggests that the unrest was well orchestrated, the Commission “did not receive clear evidence identifying specific groups or individuals as primary actors, while… the common purpose or intention behind the unrest remained unclear”.