Law enforcement officers linked to July riots escape justice

Former and current law enforcement officers who were implicated in criminal activities during the July riots have been let off the hook with no investigations or prosecutions initiated against them.

This is one the findings made by the SA Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) inquiry into the 2021 unrest, which investigated the cause of apparent lapses by law enforcement and their role in the upheaval that left a trail of destruction and more than 350 people dead.

The commission in its report released yesterday raised alarm that there has been lack of accountability and that impunity was allowed to prevail within justice institutions.

“Despite probative evidence suggesting current and former members of security and law enforcement were involved neither the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) nor the department of justice could confirm investigations or prosecutions against such individuals,” read the report.

The commission said the perceived lack of action against such persons over the past two years was a concern. Furthermore, the report highlighted that victims of violence from the unrest were not engaged by the police or the NPA nor kept informed of their rights and processes of the criminal justice system.

These revelations come on the back of 65 people being arrested and charged with various counts last year.  In November, Mdumiseni Zuma was handed a 12-year sentence for instigating violence by the Pietermaritzburg magistrate’s court. 

The commission also highlighted that the lapse of intelligence coordination and communication within the state security agencies resulted in the police’s failure to detect the planning and the execution of the planned unrest, some of which played itself out in social media posts by instigators. 

“Evidence tabled before the panel points to the lapses in under-resourcing and the consequent lack of capacity within crime intelligence. Evidently, there has also been a breakdown in coherent communication within the SAPS between crime intelligence, the [former] national commissioner of police [Khehla Sitole], relevant operational divisions and the minister of police [Bheki Cele],” said the report.

The commission made several recommendations, including SAPS making available a full and comprehensive report on all unrest-related deaths and submit the report to it. It further said there was a need for the state to build trust within the communities and community policing forums (CPF). It said CPF reports should be regularly reviewed and allegations of CPF’s being infiltrated by criminal elements should be investigated by police.

Sitole had said there was a shortage of public order policing equipment and a deficit in the number of public order police members.

The commission said while there was a belief that the July unrest was linked to Jacob Zuma’s incarceration, it could not find evidence to link the two events.  

It said various alerts were issued on threats to shut down the regions by targeting national highways and protesting against foreign nationals and drug dealers.

Asked if police were better prepared now to handle any future unrests, spokesperson for the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union Richard Mamabolo said lack of resources and budget cuts were some of the challenges faced by the police. 

He said skilled detectives were also leaving the police to join the private sector. He said should there be another unrest, there might not be enough resources to handle it.

A member of the portfolio committee on police Nocks Seabi said police are in a better position now compared to three years ago.

“You might have seen with the EFF shutdown, our police were well prepared and working together with the private sector – they were able to detect and prevent what might have happened.

“That is why the shutdown did not succeed as expected, it is because of the preparedness [of the police].”

But Seabi said Cele was worried about budget cuts because it affected issues of intelligence.

“There are budget cuts, and we are all worried about budget cuts – we have mandated the minister to engage the minister of finance and even engage the president with regard to budget cuts,” he said.