July unrest victim of vigilante group: 'The case I opened disappeared'
Forty-year-old Mbuso Xaba, a victim of the clashes in July 2021, said the case he opened after he was attacked by a vigilante group was closed without any legal recourse.
FILE: Rioters loot the Jabulani Mall in Soweto on 12 July 2021. South Africa's army said Monday it was deploying troops to two provinces, including its economic hub of Johannesburg, to help police tackle deadly violence and looting as unrest sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma entered its fourth day. Picture: Luca Sola/AFP
DURBAN - This week marks two years since the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng that saw rampant violence, widespread looting, and scores of businesses destroyed.
It led to alleged racial clashes in Phoenix, north of Durban, where people from neighbouring communities were targeted and assaulted, resulting in 36 deaths.
Two years later, Eyewitness News visited the area and spoke to a victim of the clashes who said he was yet to see justice.
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Forty-year-old Mbuso Xaba told Eyewitness News that he was driving with three boys from his community when a vigilante group started damaging his car in 2021.
He said the passengers managed to escape and ran away while the group opened fire at them.
Luckily, he said, they all survived.
He said the case he initially opened after being beaten up was now closed.
“The case I opened disappeared early last year. An investigative officer did come and take my statement, but months later I got an SMS saying the case had been stopped.”
Xaba said two years down the line, he still wanted justice for the pain he suffered.