South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Chief General Rudzani Maphwanya says it appears in some instances there was no violent looting of businesses taking place by the time soldiers were deployed.
Maphwanya made these assertions during his testimony at the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) hearings into the July Unrests of 2021, in Sandton north of Johannesburg.
The SAHRC is probing the impact of the July 2021 unrest that claimed about 350 lives and caused over R50 billion damages to infrastructure and businesses in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
“Because when we cleared up that playing field there was nobody in the streets. I don’t remember anybody trying to loot. And there was nobody running around the streets. And the generals remained there observing that operation. What we need to appreciate is to separate the political perception versus that operation,” Maphwanya says.
SAHRC Hearings on the 2021 July unrest:
