The Hawks have completed their investigations into the unrest that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng last July, but say no prominent figures or politically connected people are expected to be arrested.
Hawks head Lt-Gen Godfrey Lebeya said the 86 alleged instigators police minister Bheki Cele had announced were being investigated will be brought before court before the end of September. "There is a lot of work that has been done by the team, now it is a matter of leveling the landing strips and making sure everything is planned properly. We will be sitting with the prosecutors who will make the final decisions.
“There are those who appear to belong to political parties but the levels are not of people holding government positions or high-profile. We will give more details when we have effected the arrests but our operation and investigation are complete,” he said.
The violence was sparked by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma who was sentenced to 15 months in jail for defying a Constitutional Court order.
Last year the government claimed to have intelligence that masterminds were behind the riots, plotting to destabilise Ramaphosa’s administration. Deputy State Security Minister Zizi Kodwa said then that law enforcement officials were close to arresting them.
Since August last year, the Sunday Times has seen two government documents prepared for Ramaphosa and the then State Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo after the unrest. Dated July 14, one document contain the claim that former Ekurhuleni mayor Mzwandile Masina - an ally of Zuma and a member of his faction in the ANC - and some of his regional party executives allegedly helped fund the looting. The report, however, doesn’t contain details of how Masina allegedly managed this.
The briefing document compiled by the State Security Agency (SSA) states: “The resources of the [Ekurhuleni] Municipality are diverted from rendering services to the citizens and used instead to fuel this violence.
“They [the organisers] target places such as malls and other vulnerable areas with less security, then bring a small number of people in groups of 20. Once they break into the property, in the process ordinary people who would have been around at the time seize the moment and join in the looting when they see that the opportunity has presented itself. The SAPS should investigate these identified individuals and translate this intelligence into prosecutable evidence in a court of law.”
Masina dismissed the claims in an interview with the Sunday Times and challenged police to arrest him.
“I even wrote to the police commissioner and he rubbished the claims that I was being investigated,” said Masina.
“There is no state money that was used to fund any riots. There is no way I can just take state money and fund riots and the money is not accounted for,” he added.
“Even better, there is now a DA government. Ask them if there was any government money used to fund any riots during my tenure. Come December, I will still be here and there will still be allegations against me just because we contest leadership positions in the ANC.”
Masina did not provide any communication between himself and then national police commissioner Khehla Sitole, who Ramaphosa later fired.
SAPS spokesperson spokesperson Col Athlenda Mathe said the former commissioner was no longer in the employ of the service and is investigations were continuing to identify and arrest more suspects linked to the unrest.
"As a result, we will not be commenting on this matter in the best interest of these investigations."
During the violence, Masina took sick leave after contracting Covid-19.
“During the riots I was sick. I was not even working because I was literally dying. That was not some normal corona[virus]. I was not even on my phone. I was home. It is something that I can prove,” he said.
“I was never involved in any riots or plot or anything. If I was under any investigation they would have arrested me by now. Let them come and arrest me, they just want to tarnish my name and destroy me because we differ politically and I disagree with the establishment.”
One cabinet minister told the Sunday Times that the intelligence reports implicating Masina were handed to Ramaphosa, but they were scant on detail.
“[Ramaphosa] even said he learnt more about colours during the riots than the actual threat levels that the country was facing.
"He was presented with red, green and orange to show the level of danger, but no details of the plans of those behind the riots,” the minister said.
At least four sources close to Ramaphosa and his office confirmed to the Sunday Times that he knew about the allegations surrounding Masina.
“The president was briefed about that mayor and him funding the RET [radical economic transformation faction of the ANC] activities, especially around the July riots. But we have been surprised that he has not taken any action because that was a long time ago when he was told about this,” said one insider.
The presidency declined to comment when contacted this week.
A senior Hawks official said they didn't receive the SSA’s information and Masina’s name had not come up. However, a number of instigators were under investigation, he said.
“I don’t want to clear anybody and I don’t want to confirm that anybody is under investigation. When these matters come to us we have to investigate and we don’t want to be accused of taking sides.”
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