‘Warning signs were all there’ ahead of July civil unrest, says Lamola

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola says the warning signs of what was coming were all there, ahead of the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma last year, which triggered the deadly July civil unrest that engulfed parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The minister made the remarks on Thursday during his testimony before the South African Human Rights’ (SAHRC) Gauteng leg hearings into the July riots.

“We were from time to time engaged by NATJOINTS to understand what is happening and we were obviously told that this situation has been triggered by the arrest of the former president or the impending arrest that was looming [at the time],” Lamola said.

Lamola said the warning signs that there was an impending crisis in the country were there, and insisted that government had a plan in place to respond “promptly and timeously” to any eventualities.

“Obviously you will remember that there was a lot of social media mobilisation and also incitement on various platforms that all South Africans could see at the time.

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“It was clear that this needed a coordinated effort from all the criminal justice structures to respond promptly and timeously.

“Hence you will remember that when the former president ended up being incarcerated, it was an operation that the South African Police Service [Saps] ran up until he arrived at the correctional centre,” Lamola said.

Lamola said he based his statements on intelligence received from the security cluster on the causes and suspects who orchestrated the violence, widespread looting, and destruction of several businesses.

“I think the intelligence operatives and also Saps, who are the people who were in the coalface [of the civil unrest], will be better placed to have a clear picture of an understanding about that situation,” he said.

Zuma’s arrest

In June 2021, Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail for being in contempt of the Constitutional Court, after he defied its orders to appear before the state capture commission and testify under oath.

The former president’s imprisonment has been widely considered to have triggered the unrest that led to the loss of life of more than 300 people, and caused destruction to the local economy running into billions of Rand.

Zuma was released on medical parole just two months into his prison sentence, with the Pretoria High Court later finding that his release on medical grounds was unlawful.

ALSO READ: Court rules Zuma’s medical parole was unlawful, orders his return to prison

July unrest ‘unprecedented’

Earlier, Lamola said the civil unrest was unprecedented in South Africa’s democratic history. He said the events of last year could also be viewed from the perspective of multiple crises and challenges currently facing the country.

“The civil unrest destabilised the country’s economy negatively affecting the livelihoods of many. The closing of business also resulted in the loss of many jobs,” Lamola said.

The minister admitted that some suspects arrested during the unrest were nabbed for minor offences. He said the large number of suspects apprehended overwhelmed the court system and police.

But he said his department had learned a number of valuable lessons from the unrest, and was able to put directives in place to ensure the swift processing of suspects arrested for public violence and looting.

Some of these measures, according to the minister, included the department’s alternative dispute resolution process, the tracking of cases on the court roll and protocols to ensure suspects did not get infected with Covid-19 while in prison.

“Our understanding was that there must be an intervention as urgently as possible from the NATJOINTS operational centre to respond to most of these issues in a manner that is timely and promptly to avoid any further damages, loss of lives, or any further distractions to the social life of South Africans, including to the economy,” Lamola said.

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