EDITORIAL | If NatJoints isn’t taking threats lightly, why aren’t instigators in the dock?

There was some poetic justice in the news that Fees Must Fall activist Bonginkosi Khanyile appeared in the Durban magistrate’s court on incitement to violence charges on the same day the National Shutdown campaign failed to kick off. 

While Khanyile, an EFF member known as the face of the student protests, appeared in court for utterances made on Twitter during the recent deadly riots that swept through KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, his partners were back-pedalling from their big talk over the past few days. The organisers of the National Shutdown march — pro-Jacob Zuma activists calling for the removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa — said they were forced to abandon their plans at the 11th hour. 

“Even though we are marching against the government, we don’t intend to go against the regulations they have put in place or do criminal acts. We did state that the march is going to be a peaceful one,” one of the organisers, Mandleynyoka Ntuli, said, explaining that the march in Durban could not go ahead because permission for the protest was not granted in time. The organisers’ newfound commitment to abide by the law is also a convenient explanation for the masses not showing up. The streets of Joburg were just as quiet on “National Shutdown” day, perhaps a further indication that the campaign has failed to gather much momentum. 

How can we believe NatJoints when it says 'law-abiding citizens should be at ease knowing that the NatJoints is not taking these threats lightly'? Our law enforcers got a free pass on Monday when protestors did not turn up in their droves. They may not be so lucky next time, and luck is the last thing SA wants to rely on to secure a safe future.

This despite former ANCYL deputy president Andile Lungisa tweeting last week that action will be taken if Zuma’s “illegal arrest” is not “quickly addressed” by the Constitutional Court. At the weekend, law-enforcement agencies said they would be a high alert “to ensure the safety and security of South Africans amidst threats of a ‘National Shutdown’”, adding that the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) was aware of “inflammatory messages on various social media platforms advocating for violence”.

Yet SA is still to see any action taken against Duduzile Zuma-Sambundla, who, on an unverified Twitter account, encouraged the earlier riots — that left more than 300 people dead — to protest against her father’s incarceration. The DA made it even easier for the authorities, lodging a complaint with the police against Zuma-Sambundla, her brother Edward Zuma and EFF leader Julius Malema for their utterances on social media. But among the social media “instigators”, the only person in the dock is Khanyile. Not so poetic any more.

How can we believe NatJoints when it says “law-abiding citizens should be at ease knowing that the NatJoints is not taking these threats lightly”? Our law enforcers got a free pass on Monday when protesters did not turn up in their droves. They may not be so lucky next time, and luck is the last thing SA wants to rely on to secure a safe future.

Last month’s civil unrest was a monumental wake-up call for the crime intelligence community, law enforcement and government about how easy it could be to destabilise the country with the help of a few keyboard strokes.

The politicians have worked hard to push a damage-control agenda — racking up frequent flyer miles between Gauteng and KZN in almost bi-weekly visits to account to various communities about progress in dealing with murders, robbery and public violence arrests stemming from the events post July 9.

But the cold, hard truth is that more than a month after 337 people paid the ultimate price for this lesson, the elusive 12 instigators have still not been brought to book. This begs the question whether the dirty dozen are just another dimension of the damage-control exercise or whether there is a political agenda in not bringing them to book. 

Either way, actions speak louder than words and the buck stops at the highest office in the country.