The investigation continues after the arrest of 20 alleged rioters in July 2021. However, the Hawks reportedly indicated that arrests are still pending. We are talking about the so-called “masterminds” who were still at large and were not among the 84 suspects. A group of alleged instigators were captured and briefly appeared in court on Friday. READ ALSO: July riots: 21 alleged instigators granted R3000 bail. However, according to the Hawks’ national spokesperson, Brigadier General Namthandazo Mbambo, this was “only the tip of the iceberg”. Criminal law expert Dr Llewellyn Curlewis said it was worrying that only 20…
The investigation continues after the arrest of 20 alleged rioters in July 2021.
However, the Hawks reportedly indicated that arrests are still pending.
We are talking about the so-called “masterminds” who were still at large and were not among the 84 suspects.
A group of alleged instigators were captured and briefly appeared in court on Friday.
READ ALSO: July riots: 21 alleged ringleaders granted R3000 bail
However, this was “only the tip of the iceberg”, according to the Hawks’ national spokesperson, Brigadier General Namthandaz Mbambo.
Criminal law expert Dr Llewellyn Curlewis said it was worrying that only 20 of those arrested would stand trial and those behind the riots were still at large.
“But they are [the preliminary accused] will point the finger and say, ‘But why are we in court and no one else,’ and eventually the names will disappear,” he said.
When asked whether former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla, was not among those arrested on Thursday, Curlewis said “politics play a role” when it comes to Zuma-Sambudla. .
Hawks KwaZulu-Natal spokesperson Major General Lesethja Senona, who was present at the court, told the media that Zuma-Sambudla was under investigation in a case initiated by Democratic Alliance (DA) MP Glynis Breytenbach.
READ: Nose for trouble: Dudu Zuma ‘smells another riot’, hits out at Ramaphosa
However, legal analyst, Barrister Modidima Mannya, said it appears “the bigger fish are still coming”.
“The police have already confirmed that she is also a person of interest,” Manya said.
“I heard their boss say they want to make sure they don’t arrest people who are later released because of poor investigative work,” he said, referring to Yastrabov.
Mannya said he believes the police have a critical case that could potentially lead them to the real masterminds of the riots.
The Hawks’ Mbambo said that while they could not confirm an investigation into any specific individual until the individual was prosecuted, a number of claims had been dropped involving a number of people.
Ventersdorp Magistrates’ Court transferred the case of 51-year-old Matthews Stanley Ntyontyo for “incitement via WhatsApp messages” to KwaZulu-Natal.
NOW READ: July riots in numbers: Arrests, court cases and investigations
