July unrest was a deliberate decision to instigate, coordinate and incite widespread destruction – Ramaphosa
The July unrest, which saw the looting of shops, malls, factories and warehouses, claimed the lives of 337 people. Ramaphosa said for one week and one day the nation stared into the heart of darkness.“We watched in horror as parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were engulfed in riots, looting, disruption and death. We saw scenes of shops being looted, people beaten and humiliated. We felt uncertain and fearful for ourselves, our country and loved ones.
Ramaphosa said the socioeconomic conditions in the country played a role in fuelling the unrest, this could explain why so many ordinary South Africans participated in the looting, risking arrest, injury and in some cases death. The chaos was used as a smokescreen to carry out acts of economic sabotage such as the attacks on commercial trucks carrying goods, the raiding and torching of shopping malls, factories and warehouses.
“We have acknowledged that as government we were poorly prepared for an orchestrated campaign of public violence. What this country experienced was not a popular uprising of the poor as the peddlers of misinformation sought to characterise it. It was not the bubbling over of discontent over an alleged legitimate political grievance. It was an attempted insurrection,” he said.
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