Three of the 19 people arrested by police as the alleged instigators of the July unrest have come out guns blazing, claiming they intended to plead not guilty when their matters go to court.
Fees Must Fall activist Bonginkosi Khanyile, former TV and radio personality Ngizwe Mchunu and West Rand Patriotic Alliance member Bruce Nimmerhoudt, who at the time of the unrest was the party’s mayoral candidate, told TimesLIVE Premium they all intend to plead not guilty to their charges relating to inciting public violence and breaching the Disaster Management Act and Terrorism Act.
They disputed their involvement in instigating violence and mobilising the masses to loot.
“Do you seriously think that I as an individual can cause so much racket in the country? All I did was express my disappointment for the unlawful arrest of Jacob Zuma — that’s all. Can someone blame the people of Sri Lanka for what they did to their president, can they blame it on a single person? They cannot, it’s because the government failed to care for their people,” said Mchunu.
He said his life had been turned upside down, as his arrest came with exorbitant cost of legal representation.
“I am unemployed and I’m sitting with a bill of R60,000 for when I go to court — my life is miserable.”
He said while his close friends and family have assisted him with his legal fees, the ANC are the ones to blame for the July unrest.
“For 28 years the ANC has been out of touch with the people on the ground. Jacob Zuma was the only man in that administration who was with us as black citizens of this country.”
For 28 years the ANC has been out of touch with the people on the ground, Jacob Zuma was the only man in that administration who was with us as black citizens of this country.
— Former TV and radio personality Ngizwe Mchunu
Nimmerhoudt said he did not want to reveal too many details building up to his trial, set for July 25 to 29 in Roodepoort, as he was preparing to take his fight to the state.
He said he had conducted his own investigation and research into the unrest and would reveal such information at the trial.
Nimmerhoudt was arrested on July 16, after a WhatsApp voice note inciting public violence and calling people to block national highways was circulated, with him being accused of voicing the message.
He lambasted the country’s national intelligence unit for failing the country.
“National intelligence was in possession of key information that warned them about this, but we are always waiting for a crisis before we intervene. To date the minister of police and national intelligence cannot even pinpoint where this information came from — we are talking about intelligence here, this does not take a rocket scientist to figure it out.”
Khanyile said while Zuma’s arrest played a part in the unrest, the socioeconomic conditions and the plight of the unemployed and poor, whose lives were further cast into poverty after numerous lockdowns due to Covid-19, had more of a hand to play in what happened.
“People were under lockdown, an intensive lockdown, where the rich were chowing billions, this contributed towards people going to loot. Many of the people who went to loot didn’t even care about Zuma. Some people were pure criminals because they would go and burn down a mall. Why would they do that after they have taken whatever they wanted from inside that mall?”
He echoed Nimmerhoudt’s sentiments and said SA’s police and intelligence system was weak.
“When something like this happens, the government is quick to try to make arrests, but we know that the police and intelligence systems are weak. They couldn’t contain the unrest when it started and then it spread.”
He claimed the vast majority of people who looted were not even on social media, so the argument that people mobilised the masses via platforms such as Twitter and Facebook could not even be considered.
In March Cele named 19 instigators of the July unrest who had been arrested across KZN, Gauteng and the Free State.
He later told parliament the Hawks had made eight arrests, while the police’s division for detective and forensic services had arrested 11.
Five of the 19 alleged instigators will have their matters proceed to trial this year, while cases against at least four have been either provisionally withdrawn or struck off the court roll.
Hawks spokesperson Brig Thandi Mbambo, identified Orifile Sedika, Crispin Sikhakhane, Themba Mnisi, Motsamai Letsoalo, Khanyile, Mdumiseni Zuma, Zamaswazi Majozi and Joe Bernington Mabaso as the individuals arrested by their teams.
She told TimesLIVE Premium that cases against Sedika and Majozi were struck off the roll during their separate appearances in March, while charges against Letsoalo and Mabaso were provisionally withdrawn for further investigation and whistle-blower statements.
Cases against Sikhakhane, Khanyile, Zuma, Mchunu and Nimmerhoudt are expected to proceed to trial between July and October.
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