Terrorism charges added to cases against July 2021 insurrectionists, Hawks tell SCOPA
Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya, said that those involved in the July 2021 insurrection in KwaZulu-Natal were not off the hook and they'd had the charge of terrorism added to their cases.
Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya, appeared before Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) in Cape Town on 20 November 2024. Picture: Phando Jikelo/Parliament
CAPE TOWN - Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya, said that those involved in the July 2021 insurrection in KwaZulu-Natal were not off the hook and they'd had the charge of terrorism added to their cases.
Sixty-eight people were arrested for their role in the widespread violence during the pandemic, which resulted in shops being destroyed and looted.
The unrest instigator, Mdumiseni Zuma, was convicted and sentenced to 12 years last November.
Lebeya on Wednesday told Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) that 65 cases related to the riots sparked by President Jacob Zuma's impending imprisonment were pending on the high court roll.
Another case was awaiting a decision for enrollment.
"Those that have not been arrested are those against which we do not have evidence and the manner in which this was communicated required intensive investigation. So, if there comes evidence to link others that are supposed to be on a higher level, we will not hesitate to deal with those."