Ramaphosa to testify at SAHRC July unrest hearing
The South African Human Rights Commissions (SAHRC) says President Cyril Ramaphosa will be invited to account for government’s response to the July unrest.
The commission is currently probing the events that transpired in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in July last year.
The civil unrest led to the deaths of more than 350 people and billions of rands lost to the economy.
The commission has heard from several high-profile officials, including Police Minister Bheki Cele, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, as well as eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda.
SAHRC chairperson Andre Gaum announced on Friday that Ramaphosa is expected to give evidence in April when the commission reconvenes for the third leg of hearings.
He added the commission is then expected to start working on its report.
“Considering the extent to which human rights were impacted during the events that occurred between the 8th and 19th of July 2021 in the provinces of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the commission exercised its constitutional and statutory mandate to investigate the causes of unrests as well as the impact on human rights,” said Gaum.
“The commission will now collect all the oral evidence heard and all the submissions received in drafting its report, the commission has a large volume of evidence to work with and will not state when its provisional report will be available, and the final report. But we can commit every resource available to finalising the report as soon as possible.”
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