Lerato Mbhiza
Police Minister Bheki Cele has applauded the 12-year direct imprisonment sentence for one of the July unrest instigators, saying it was bolstered by the work that police investigations had put in and promised that the police expect to make more arrests.
Cele was speaking at the INTERPOL 91ST Annual General Meeting in Vienna and praised the detective work done in leading to the sentencing of Mdumiseni Khetha Zulu who was found guilty by the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Wednesday, for his part in inciting violence during the 2021 July unrests in KwaZulu Natal and in Gauteng.
“The Detective work gives us hope that the outstanding suspects will receive a similar fate especially with the escalated charges for instigators and this sentence clearly illustrates that the long arm of the law will not be selective nor will it be kind,” said Cele.
He added as police investigations continue, and he anticipates that more suspects who had a hand in the wanton destruction of property and loss of life during the July unrest, will be brought to book.
More than 300 people died and billions worth of property was destroyed through fire and looting in the riots that took place over a week.
The 36-year-old Zuma was convicted for contravening Sections 17 and 18 of the Riotous Assemblies Act, where he posted on WhatsApp, provocative messages inciting people to gather and commit public violence, targeting the Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg in KZN which ended up being looted and burnt to the ground..
However, the president of the EFF cast doubt on the quality of Zuma’s legal Representative and said the party would seek legal intervention on his behalf.
“I don’t think the so-called July 2021 Instigator Mdumiseni Zuma got proper legal representation. I’ve since asked our KZN Provincial Chair to get the facts and how we can be of assistance”.
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