Veiled threats of July riots a brazen attempt at intimidation

As we sidle nervously towards the first anniversary of the July riots, veiled threats of future chaos surface.

In a brazen attempt at intimidation, former president Jacob Zuma’s lawyers this week cautioned the Supreme Court of Appeal to “take judicial notice” of the deadly unrest that followed last year’s imprisonment of Zuma for contempt, when it decides on whether to revoke his medical parole.

This is not a first by Zuma’s lawyers to use what President Cyril Ramaphosa called the “failed insurrection” – at least 359 people dead and R50 billion of property destroyed – to sway the judiciary’s interpretation of the law.

It’s dangerously close to intimidation and one must wonder at the toothlessness of the professions’ oversight bodies, that they continue to tolerate this behaviour from their members.

In a similarly transparent vein, police unions warn that the SA Police Service (Saps) will struggle to cope with any unusual demands, such as unrest, because there isn’t overtime pay available.

Representatives from Popcru and the SA Police Union told MPs this week that the morale of the police was very low and that poor salaries were a major reason for this.

The July unrest, along with the 2021 municipal elections, emptied the R1.5 billion Saps budget for overtime, the portfolio committee on police was told.

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Cops seeking improved overtime pay based on their performance in the 2021 upheavals are the ultimate in chutzpah.

For the first four days of looting, arson and killing, the Saps stirred not a finger to protect lives or property.

In at least one case, they were so ill-prepared that they had to beg on WhatsApp for civilian firearm owners to give them any 9mm ammunition that they could spare. A big ask, given that it was these gun owners who were, until the military was deployed, literally the only barrier between the looters and their neighbourhoods.

The question is whether the Saps is better prepared this time around. Security analysts, who prefer not to be named, believe that it is.

For one, the acrimonious stand-off between National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole and Minister of Police Bheki Cele, which paralysed Saps for years, has at last ended, with Sitole’s resignation.

ALSO READ: Inequality has turned SA into a tinderbox, says expert on July riots report

On the downside, there is still an “incredible hesitancy” on the part of Saps in particular, and the entire law enforcement apparatus in general, to deal with anything that has political fingerprints on it.

“If the people involved are known to be ANC, no one wants to touch it, for fear of becoming caught up in the party’s factional wars,” said one expert.

We shall just have to sit out the next month in tenterhooks and see.

It’s worth remembering that it’s not only politicking that bedevils policing and the criminal justice in South Africa. It’s also the apathy and incompetence that are rife at every level of public service.

A test of the ability of 140 national and provincial government departments to respond to telephone calls and e-mails, conducted by the Democratic Alliance, found almost two-thirds (65%) – including Saps, the National Intelligence Agency, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate and the presidency – failed to answer any calls or e-mails.

So, if you’ve got any hot info about imminent insurrection, you’ll have to keep it to yourself. In the meanwhile, stock up on the 9mm ammo. Your local police station is counting on you.