LISTEN | Soweto community leaders knew of July 2021 unrest before it happened and warned the police

A Soweto community leader who represents the Bahlali Baduli non-profit organisation on Thursday told the SA Human Rights Commission that community leaders had known about the looming July 2021 unrest before it erupted.

“Community leaders warned the police about the imminent threat but nothing was done,” said Themba Makhubela.

He claimed that the police were highly incapacitated before the unrest broke out, despite there being intelligence on the ground about what was coming. 

The July 2021 unrest, which began in KwaZulu-Natal, quickly spread to Gauteng and led to widespread looting of shops and malls, the destruction of several establishments and warehousing, and also resulted in the deaths of more than 300 people.

The disorder was allegedly sparked by the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma.

Makhubela said the high unemployment rate in Soweto led to it being a fertile breeding ground for the unrest. He claimed the jobless situation in the township is so bad that there is no difference between week days and weekends — people are always in the township.

“The social unrest threat has been there for some time,” said Makhubela.

When the unrest hit, the community was deprived of basic service delivery from the police. “But it’s what the community is subjected to each day,” he said.

A lack of police vehicles and an unbalanced ratio between police stations and the size of the community were among the issues he listed.

“On the day of the unrest, our police were overwhelmed and outnumbered by a number of incidents of looting,” said Makhubela, who explained that the unrest hit the Diepkloof, Bara and Jabulani areas.

Liquor stores and food wholesalers were mostly targeted.

Makhubela said after the unrest, the community suffered as there was a shortage of essentials. They could not access money as ATMs had been damaged in most areas and there was also a shortage of fuel because of delivery issues.

“What was shocking to us as the community of Soweto was that days later, the government launched a programme to recover looted goods.

“They went into our houses and shacks, recovering liquor and perishable goods. What was shocking is how do you explain the situation when a policeman or woman confiscates a used bottle of cooking oil or half a bag of mealie meal because the owner cannot produce the receipt?” Makhubela said.

What was even more heartbreaking was that the police destroyed those items of food — a move which he said was “immoral in the eyes of Africans — especially when so many people go to bed hungry”.

Adding salt to the wound, Makhubela said, was that the entire operation was televised.

Tshidi Madisakoane, from the same organisation, said what happened in Soweto last year was a painful event that had a long-lasting impact. She said some locals lost their jobs after the companies or shops they worked for closed or moved to different areas.

“If we are going to let it go without accountability, we are saying it can happen again in future,” said Madisakoane.

She said the looting was organised. In Meadowlands — the part of Soweto where she resides — community members thought they were safe because there was a police station nearby. The rumours around that time were that the looters came from the hostels.

“We are far from the hostels, so our community members thought they were safe.”

But in the early hours of the morning, large retailers in the area were hit. Other community members, she said, were recruited to come and join the looting.

Madisakoane said poverty led to people losing their moral compasses during the looting.

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