As outlined in the Final Report on the National Investigative Hearing into the July 2021 Unrest, the Commission's investigation revealed that South Africa is at risk of ongoing volatility and violence. The Commission’s recommendations, released in January 2024, aim to address some of the systemic and contributory factors that contributed to and/ or exacerbated the Unrest. These recommendations identify the need for significant changes in intelligence, policing, security, and justice sectors. The Commission's recommendations were sent to implicated state departments and organizations, including the Presidency, the State Security Agency (SSA), the South African Police Service (SAPS), the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD), the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), and the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (DTiC).

The implicated institutions were afforded ninety (90) days to report to the commission on measures they would take in responding and to implementing the recommendations. The Commission is disappointed by the lack of encouraging responses from the government and other implicated entities six months later. As of the end of March 2024, the SAPS, NPA, and PSIRA provided the Commission with responses, plans, and progress reports on implementing the Final Report recommendations. The Department of Justice has requested an extension to provide their implementation plans, while the Commission is awaiting responses from the Presidency, SSA, and the DTiC.

The Commission has instituted a CAS Project, which monitors the progress of criminal cases resulting from the racialised violence in KZN. The CAS project seeks to ensure that there is clear and sustained communication and accountability regarding the various racist attacks and that there are sufficient and dignified updates to victims and family members. The Commission is also finalizing plans for research into methods of compensating victims of racial violence in KZN. The Commission's work for the current financial year and the next few years will address the root causes of the 2021 July Unrest through initiatives and litigation.

On 26 July 2024, the Gauteng Provincial Office will host a panel discussion at the Tshwane University of Technology to discuss the findings and recommendations of the Final Report, with a focus on engaging the youth.

The Commission remains highly concerned that three years later, the State, in particular the Justice, Crime Prevention, and Security Cluster, has not been able to identify and prosecute the primary instigators / orchestrators of the July Unrest. South Africa and South Africans remain in heightened states of vulnerability to gross human rights violations in the absence of any evidence-led prosecutions of those who planned and sponsored the July Unrest.

The Commission has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa and ministers whose departments were implicated in the SAHRC July Unrest Report, seeking answers regarding the implementation of the report's recommendations. The Commission will continue to engage with the government to ensure that all the July Unrest recommendations are adequately addressed.

The commission will write to the Speaker of the National Assembly for intervention. The National Assembly is enjoined to this process by section 55(2)(b)(ii) of the Constitution, which obliges the National Assembly to provide the mechanisms to maintain oversight of any organ of state.

If these engagements do not yield the desired results, the Commission will consider litigation as empowered by the Constitution.

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For further information or inquiries, please contact Wisani Baloyi on 081 016 8308 or  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMISSION