UJ Prof. Theo Venter dismisses ‘No link to Zuma’ and points to KZN ANC ranks as 2021 riot architects

The Human Rights Commission (HRC) conducted an investigation into the riots of July 2021 and found no direct link to the incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma. The report indicates that the widespread looting and property destruction were orchestrated by well-resourced ‘primary actors’ whom they did not identify. The HRC highlighted a lack of coordination among security forces and the significant role of social media as major contributors to the unrest. The riots, which occurred from July 8 to 19, resulted in the loss of 350 lives and an estimated R50 billion hit to the South African economy. In a Biznews interview, Prof. Theo Venter described the report as ambivalent. He likened Zuma’s incarceration to the events of July 2021 with the saying, “If it looks, swims, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.” However, in this case, he said the HRC saw all the signs but concluded it wasn’t a duck. Prof. Venter stated that most analysts of the July 2021 events would undoubtedly see a link. Regarding the unnamed ‘primary actors’ or agitators who planned and incited the violence, Prof. Venter suggested that the architects of the July 2021 riots are likely in the upper ranks of the ANC in Kwazulu-Natal, but it would be too uncomfortable for the ANC to deal with them. He also said that the Defence Force escaped the scrutiny of the HRC investigation