SAHRC and CRL Rights Commission to release reports on 2021 July riots
The commission held the hearings in Durban and Gauteng in 2022 to establish the facts behind what caused the destructive looting and violence.
FILE: Thandi Johnson, a shop owner, wheeps inside her looted store at the Diepkloof Square area in Soweto, Johannesburg on July 13, 2021. Picture: Phill Magakoe/AFP
DURBAN - The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) are set to release their July 2021 investigative reports into widespread looting and violence on Monday.
The riots, which hit KwaZulu-Natal before spreading to parts of Gauteng, started as protests over the arrest of Former President Jacob Zuma, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison for contempt of court for his refusal to appear before the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.
The protests turned violent, with rioting and looting resulting in the deaths of over 300 people. The events also cost the country billions in lost revenue, damage, and theft.
The commission held the hearings in Durban and Gauteng the following year to establish the facts behind what caused the riots.
Government officials including mayors, premiers, ministers, police top brass, and President Cyril Ramaphosa, testified at the hearings.
Proceedings are set to get underway on Monday morning, in Umhlanga, Durban north.