The first recommendation required that law enforcement and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development regularly communicate with victims and their families on the progress made on their respective cases, and those of their deceased loved ones. The second recommendation required that the South African Police Service (SAPS) compile a full and comprehensive report on all Unrest-related deaths, which was to be submitted to the Commission with a clear explanation of the circumstances under which the deaths occurred. As a result of these recommendations, the Commission has launched, what it calls, the Crime Administration System (CAS) Project, which seeks to assist affected persons (victims and their families) to be furnished with their case numbers, and requires that the SAHRC follow-up with SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the judiciary to ensure progress and finality into these matters.

As part of its CAS Project initiative, the office of Commissioner Madlingozi, together with the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Office (KZNPO), met with the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, supported by the KZN SAPS Senior Management, on 18 December 2024. At the meeting, SAPS confirmed to the Commission that:

• there were 184 reported cases of murder arising out of the July Unrest,
• with 142 cases of murder being investigated, and
• 16 cases of murder before the courts;
• 39 suspects have been arrested;
• 52 inquests have been opened in respect of people who died in stampedes during the looting;
• 36 of the inquests are being investigated, and
• 16 of the inquests were closed with no suspects identified.

On 16 January 2025, the offices of Commissioners Ntuli and Madlingozi met with the Acting Chief Magistrate of the Verulam Magistrate’s Court, Mr Irfaan Khallil, to discuss the progress of criminal matters brought before the Court relating to attacks that were perpetrated in and around Phoenix during the July 2021 Unrest in KwaZulu-Natal. In the July Unrest Report, the Commission had determined that the attacks related to incidents of racial profiling and vigilantism.

The engagement revealed that twelve such Unrest-related matters were brought before the Verulam Magistrate’s Court, with very few resulting in convictions due to a lack of evidence. One of the twelve matters is still, however, on the court roll and scheduled to be heard on 19 June 2025. Six Unrest-related inquests, where the circumstances surrounding the death of a person and/or the identity of the suspects are unknown, were referred to the Verulam Magistrate’s Court. All six inquests were concluded without any perpetrators being identified.

The Commission also met with the KZN Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms Elaine Harrison, the KZN Deputy Director of Public Prosecution (DDPP) for the NPA’s Organised Crime Component, Mr Lawrence Gcaba, KZN Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions , Ms Noxolo Tokwana, and the NPA’s Mr Sunhill Prithipal on 17 January 2025. The NPA is responsible for prosecuting July Unrest cases brought to them by the SAPS.

The NPA in KwaZulu-Natal (NPA-KZN) disclosed that they were provided with 66 dockets on Unrest-related deaths and serious crimes. The NPA informed the Commission that they faced major challenges when attempting to successfully prosecute these matters based on a general lack of evidence, a lack of post-mortem reports from pathologists, and hesitations by witnesses to cooperate or testify due to fears of reprisal and victimisation by the accused. Some victims, and their families, allegedly received financial compensation from the alleged perpetrators in return for not pursuing criminal charges or cooperating with criminal charges. The NPA-KZN also reported that investigations into the primary instigators of the July Unrest are continuing. Sixty-five co-accused have already been charged in this regard, and the matter is now at the pre-trial stage before the High Court.

These engagements form part of the SAHRC’s dedication and determination to ensure that all recommendations relating to the 2021 Unrest Report are implemented. Following these meetings, the SAHRC will have follow-up engagements with the victims and their families to update them on the progress of the CAS Project. A comprehensive report of the outcomes of the Commission’s engagements with the Justice Cluster, and other engagements relating to the CAS Project and Unrest-related engagements, will be released to the public in due course.

The Commission has been systematically monitoring the implementation of its recommendations with relevant stakeholders and has noted that there has been varying degrees of compliance with implementation.  A number of responses from stakeholders have been received either indicating that they have fully implemented the recommendations pertaining to them or at least the extent to which they have implemented the recommendations made with an explanation of the challenges they face that does not necessarily permit full implementation. The Commission would like to extend its gratitude to these stakeholders for their continued responsiveness and collaborative efforts in this regard.

In as far as stakeholders who have not responded are concerned, the Commission is adopting measures to ensure accountability for the approach they have taken and will be addressing this further with the relevant Executive Authorities and other oversight structures to ensure appropriate responsiveness. If these engagements do not yield the desired results, the Commission will consider litigation as empowered by the Constitution and its legislation.

END

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

For further information or inquiries, please contact Wisani Baloyi on 081 016 8308 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / Given Makhuvele on 072 197 7581 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..