Brookside Mall July 2021 riot instigator Mdumiseni Zuma sentenced to 12 years

Former security guard Mdumiseni Zuma received a 12-year prison term for incitement in relation to looting and a fire at Brookside Mall during the July 2021 riots.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said Zuma, 36, was convicted for contravening the Riotous Assemblies Act when he incited people to gather and commit public violence.

This was done by making a video in which he told people to loot and destroy Brookside Mall during the 2021 civil unrest. The mall was burnt to the ground.

Kara said senior state advocate Yuri Gangai led the evidence of video footage, audio clips and the testimony of a guard who worked at the mall. Gangai also led the evidence of two experts who translated the audio clips.

In aggravation of sentence, Gangai led the testimony of the manager of the mall at the time it was burned.

He said the estimated damage caused by the looting and fire was about R500m.

The manager said damage to the mall affected five different communities, including about 5,000 people who collected their South African Social Security Agency grants there.

Zuma was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for count 1, two years of which are suspended for five years on condition he is not convicted of the same offence during the period of suspension.

He was also sentenced to six years' imprisonment, two years of which are to run concurrently with count 1. This results in the effective sentence of 12 years' direct imprisonment.

“While the NPA in KZN has finalised several cases in respect of the July 2021 unrest, this is the first conviction where an individual has been convicted and subsequently sentenced for inciting the unrest,” Kara said.

“We hope this sentence serves as a deterrent to others who intend engaging in similar offences.”

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