By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has authorised the release of the report into the July 2021 unrest.
An expert panel was appointed to review government’s response.
The panel was chaired by professor Sandy Africa and included advocate Mojankunyane Gumbi and Silumko Sokupa as members and Michael Sarjoo appointed as secretary.
The findings of the report released by the expert panel on the July unrest were as follows:
“The police failed to stop the rioting and looting in July 2021. The reasons for this failure are complex and sometimes not of their making. In some instances, they did not get any intelligence upon which to plan operations,” the report read.
It continued: It is not clear why this was so, but one of the reasons may be that at least six members of the senior leadership of CI (Crime Intelligence) were suspended in the period leading up to the outbreak of the violence. It would be difficult for an organisation that had been hollowed out in that manner to rise to the occasion in times of crisis.
The panel found that the unrest took the police, who were inadequately prepared, by surprise, leaving them flatfooted, and with “crowd control equipment” running dry, they could not adapt their tactics.
They also found that there had been a failure of the relevant state institutions to conduct timely risk assessments, despite the constant attacks on the authority of the state by some individuals and organisations.
It further found that there was a significant intelligence failure to anticipate, prevent or disrupt the planned and orchestrated violence.
“The intelligence appreciation and interpretation of what was building up happened too late, if at all; and as a result, the security services failed to put in place the necessary interventions to detect and disrupt the plans.”
The report was scathing of Ramaphosa’s executive, stating the lines between the executive authorities and the security services seemed blurred.
“Dysfunctional relationships between ministers and their senior leadership teams in the departments in some cases impeded synergy in the flow of intelligence which affected decision-making,” the report noted.
Ramaphosa says he will outline government’s first actions during the State of Nation Address on Thursday.
Read the Full Report Here: July Unrest Report.