‘It could have been worse’: Top cop testifies on July unrest in Gauteng

Former acting Gauteng police commissioner Maj-Gen Thomas “Tommy” Mthombeni said the damage caused in the province during the riots and looting in July last year “could have been worse” were it not for the intervention of police.

“For Gauteng, we tried what we could under those circumstances. It could have been worse,” said Mthombeni.

He was testifying before the SA Human Rights Commission on Tuesday about efforts to get the province under control after the violent unrest, looting and loss of life that started in KwaZulu-Natal spread to Gauteng following the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma.

Mthombeni, standing in for provincial commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela, who was on extended leave after medical procedures, explained how police tackled the situation.

He said there was collaboration between the community, taxi associations and private security companies to stop the unrest and looting.

The Tshwane Regional Mall, situated close to a hostel, was untouched, he said. At the WF Nkomo Mall, looters tried their luck but were quickly stopped, leading to minimal damage, said Mthombeni.

Like police minister Bheki Cele, Mthombeni said there had been no prior warning from crime intelligence about the looming threat of mass unrest, but there were unofficial messages circulating about planned unrest.

“No indication of unrest was brought to my attention,” said Mthombeni, who said at the time his focus was on roadblocks to prevent interprovincial travel as SA was on level 4 of lockdown.

He said perhaps the alert never came through because the State Security Agency and crime intelligence operatives had not received intelligence.

Mthombeni was in close communication with Cele at the time and spoke about their efforts, with other senior officers, to curb the riots and looting.

He said the police were heavily outnumbered. At the Pan-Africa Mall in Alexandra, for example, he said he saw about 3,000 people close to the mall on the day of the looting. Only 80 police officers, among them public order police, had been deployed. This led to them joining forces with the Johannesburg metro police department.

On the first day of the unrest in Gauteng, said Mthombeni, live rounds were fired, suggesting these may have come from civilians. One police officer was shot and two others injured.

Mthombeni said 16 people were arrested in Alexandra and eight in Jeppe. Some looted goods were recovered.

The hearing continues.

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