By: ANG Reporter
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) will tomorrow (Tuesday) conclude the receipt of oral evidence in the National Investigative Hearing into the last year’s July unrests in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
In a statement, the commission said its panel presiding over the hearings comprised commissioners Andre Gaum (Chair of the Hearing), Philile Ntuli, and Chris Nissen.
“During the various sessions of the hearings, the SAHRC received a large body of written and oral evidence from affected community members, civil society organisations, experts, business and government.”
“In the previous session of the hearing, President Ramaphosa, in his testimony recognized the importance of the probe by the commission and articulated his support for the process.”
The commission said other key members of the Cabinet such as the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, and former Minister of Defense and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, also appeared before the commission to provide testimony and respond to questions posed by the commission.
“The commission will hear oral evidence from the Social Cohesion Group. The sitting on 21 June 2022 marks the close of the receipt of oral evidence.”
“Circumstances around the unrest that unfolded in July 2021 are a matter of national concern and implicate a spectrum of basic human rights, such as the right to security, the right to be free from all forms of violence, the right not to have one’s possessions seized and the right to life.”
“The events which plunged the country into a crisis have had both direct impacts on human rights and long-term implications for people and for the economic health of the country beyond the two provinces where the unrest occurred during July 2021. “
The commission said its probe as an independent constitutional body “is, therefore, a necessary response allowing reflection on the causes, outcomes, and responses during the July Unrest, with the view to ensuring that a human rights crisis of such a nature does not again befall the country”.
The Hearing will be live-streamed and would be accessible on the commission’s website: www.sahrc.org.za; social media pages Twitter: @SAHRCommission, Facebook: South African Human Rights Commission, and YouTube channel: SAHRC1. Stream link to be shared.
The hearing will be held at Raddison Blu in Sandton, Rivonia Road, and Daisy Street from 3 pm till 5 pm.
