PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa admitted on Friday that the government, the police and other security forces were ill-prepared for the attempted insurrection that took place in South Africa this week.
Dozens of shopping centres in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal were destroyed, costing billions of rand in damages.
Ramaphosa also said the attempted insurrection has been a failure, because South Africans have rejected it and stood up in defence of the country’s hard-won democracy.
He also said that those who lit the flames of looting and violence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal must be found and prosecuted.
A total of 180 people were killed in KwaZulu-Natal and 32 in Gauteng.
A total of 1,692 people were also arrested in connection with the looting and violence.
“We must acknowledge that we were poorly prepared for an orchestrated campaign of public violence, destruction and sabotage of this nature. While we commend the brave actions of our security forces on the ground, we must admit that we did not have the capabilities and plans in place to respond swiftly and decisively,” said Ramaphosa, adding that the South African Police Service is investigating 131 cases of murder and has opened inquest dockets in respect of 81 deaths.
“Our police were faced with a difficult situation and exercised commendable restraint to prevent any loss of life or further escalation. However, once additional security personnel were deployed, they were able to quickly restore calm to most areas that were affected. Once this crisis has passed, we will undertake a thorough and critical review of our preparedness and our response.”
Ramaphosa said that the violence and looting of the past week were masterminded and that government has identified the individuals responsible.
“It is clear now that the events of the last week were nothing less than a deliberate, a coordinated, and a well-planned attack on our democracy,” Ramaphosa said.
“These actions are intended to cripple the economy, cause social instability and severely weaken – or even dislodge – the democratic state.”
The president said that insurrectionists used the pretext of a political grievance to provoke a popular uprising, adding that the current instability and ongoing incitement to violence constituted a direct contravention of the Constitution and the rule of law.
“The ensuing chaos is used as a smokescreen to carry out economic sabotage through targeted attacks on trucks, factories, warehouses and other infrastructure necessary for the functioning of our economy and the provision of services to our people,” Ramaphosa said.
“They have sought to exploit the social and economic conditions under which many South Africans live, conditions that have worsened since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and to provoke citizens and criminals to engage in opportunistic acts of looting.”
Ramaphosa also said that while the masterminds behind the attacks have been identified, several of them are still at large and being pursued by the police.
The president promised to bring the full might of South Africa’s law to bear against those who incited the chaos.
“We will extinguish the fires that are raging, and stamp out every last ember. We will identify and act against those who lit the flame, and those who spread it,” Ramaphosa said.
“We will find those who instigated this violence. They will be held accountable for their deeds. We will not allow anyone to destabilise our country and get away with it.”
“We will not allow any person or any group to challenge the authority of our democratically elected government.”
While Ramaphosa acknowledged the call for a state of emergency, he said that government would only declare one as last resort.
- Inside Politics
