July unrest investigations are ongoing, says NPA

THE Director of Public Prosecutions at the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday told the inquiry into the July unrest that establishing the source of the tumult was a complex matter that they were still in the process of investigating.

The hearings are probing the civil unrest that engulfed KZN and Gauteng in July, leading to the looting and burning of numerous shopping centres and other businesses and the deaths of at least 342 people.

Giving evidence at the hearings held by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) Kwena Mashamaite, KZN Director of Public Prosecutions, said the organised crime unit was investigating whether instigators, organisers or sponsors were behind the unrest.

“We want to see what led these people to loot. Did it come from somewhere, was there a structure, was there a syndicate, was there a group of people, were there people that were financing the unrest? We look at that so that the community and society can (know) if this was a planned unrest or what the situation was.

“The investigation at that level will always be tense and complex because you then have to look at a number of issues,” Mashamaite said.

He could not be drawn into divulging whether high-ranking individuals were behind instigating the unrest in the two provinces.

“We have to be very careful. Remember the unrest occurred in July and we are now in November. That's plus-minus four to five months of investigations.

“These are very sensitive and serious issues that we are investigating as the NPA and whether we would divulge who is involved and at what level... I don't think this would be the right platform,” Mashamaite said.

He said letting such information out to the public had the potential of affecting their investigations, but they were investigating people that could be potential witnesses.

“The NPA takes the unrest very seriously and I believe every citizen will be very concerned by what transpired in July.

“That is why we have been organised in this way, where in organised crime we have four dedicated, experienced advocates looking at the unrest matters at that level where we look at instigators and inciters of these offences,” Mashamaite said.

He said there was daily communication between KZN and Gauteng, as the affected provinces, and the national office of the NPA, particularly in KZN.

Earlier in the day the commission's panellists, commissioners Chris Nissen and Philile Ntuli, heard evidence from the former CEO and owner of KZN VIP Protection Security Services, Glen Naidoo, from Phoenix, where around 36 people died as a result of the unrest.

Naidoo told the commissioners he made the call for residents of Phoenix to barricade roads in and out of the township to protect the area as there were fears that it was under threat from people who wanted to loot and burn businesses.

However, he said he was not responsible for the deaths in the area as he had simply called for community members to protect themselves, their families, their loved ones and the community at large, in the face of threats.

“The intention of the barricades was to prevent the residents of Phoenix from being attacked and yes, things went horribly (wrong). A lot of people died, but I can't be held accountable for that. Those people that are responsible for that, at the end of the day, must face justice in their own way,” Naidoo said.

He said people had to defend themselves in the absence of the defence mechanism set up by the Constitution.