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Courts Take on Instigators of July 2021 Unrest in South Africa

The Pietermaritzburg Magistrates Court has sentenced July 2021 unrest instigator Mdumiseni Zuma to 12 years behind bars. Zuma posted video of himself at a KwaZulu-Natal mall calling on looters to descend on it during the unrest. Zuma was found guilty of contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act earlier this year.

Earlier in November, dozens of alleged instigators of the unrest faced charges of terrorism, conspiring or inciting the commission of terrorism, sedition, conspiracy to commit murder, public violence, conspiracy to commit public violence and incitement to commit public violence. A court date of January 30, 2024, was set.

The violence erupted in the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng when former president Jacob Zuma began serving a sentence for contempt of court over failing to appear at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture. Looters vandalised shopping malls, other retail outlets, businesses, factories and destroyed infrastructure.

InFocus

Nokulunga Majola / GroundUp

A looted shop in KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal, in July 2021.

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