CLRRC and SAHRC apologise for the delay in investigation of the Phoenix Massacre that they blame on historical tensions

Johnathan Paoli

THE Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) have apologised over the lateness of initial investigative results into the July 2021 unrest, and said that historical tensions between Indian and African communities may have contributed to the deadly Phoenix racial attacks.

The CRL Rights Commission and the SAHRC were tabling on Monday the reports of their investigative hearings into the unrest, which followed what many have claimed to be popular discontent at the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma.

The Chapter 9 institutions were investigating the violence which happened in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal where more than 350 people lost their lives. Several businesses were looted while others were torched during the wanton destruction that went on for days.

The 36 people who died in Phoenix were attacked by a group of vigilantes who claimed to be protecting the Indian