July unrest two years on: Are the police ready?

On 9 July 2021, South Africa was rocked by a wave of violence and looting that would last for nine days. The unrest was sparked by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, but it quickly spread to other parts of the country, including Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. File Picture: Bongani Mbatha/ African News Agency
Police absence in July unrest questioned at public hearings

Venes’s testimony echoed that of Ntethelelo Mkhize, who appeared before the commission the day before, on Wednesday. Mkhize claimed there was no police assistance when he was shot twice, his friends killed, and others assaulted in the streets of Phoenix on 12 July.