Africa-Press – South-Africa. Lawyers representing 65 people charged in connection with the civil unrest in parts of South Africa in 2021, are disappointed that the Durban Magistrate’s Court postponed the case again, instead of withdrawing it provisionally.
The accused, with the exception of one, briefly appeared on Friday and the case was postponed to November 2023 to give the State an opportunity to get authorisation to add terrorism charges.
The matter had been postponed from November 2022 for further investigation.
On Friday, prosecutor Yuri Gangai told the court that the State was ready to proceed with the trial but motivated for a postponement to 17 November.
The State required time to get authorisation from National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi to add terrorism charges in terms of the Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorism and Related Activities Act, and to finalise and print the indictment.
So far, the accused have been charged with the contravention of the Riotous Assemblies Act, conspiracy to commit public violence, incitement to commit public violence and incitement to commit arson.
According to the State, the accused formed part of a WhatsApp group that organised looting and blockading of roads after the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma in July 2021.
More than 350 people died during the unrest. At least R50 billion worth of damage to public and private infrastructure was recorded, and 150 000 job losses were reported.
Lawyers representing the accused argued that the postponement the State sought was prejudicial to their clients.
They called on the State to provisionally withdraw the matter instead until an indictment was authorised.
“The State said it knew about the activities of the accused as far back as July 2021 but waited until August 2022 to charge them,” said Pat Magwaza, a lawyer representing 27 of the accused.
After the court proceedings, Magwaza told News24 the matter had “caused great financial strain” for his clients, “most of whom are unemployed”.
“The lives of all 65 accused have been on hold since they were charged, but the State appears not ready to proceed.
“They can’t get jobs. My concern is that if the matter goes to the High Court, it may only be heard in 2025 or beyond that, because we know that High Courts are currently strained with a high case load.
“This means the lives of our clients will be on hold for a long time.”
However, he appreciated that the court marked the postponement as final.
“It means that if the State is not ready by then, the court will see that the State does not have its house in order.
“It will have no choice but to throw the matter out and only resume it once the State has resolved its issues,” he said.
Following an outcry from the legal representatives of the accused, Gangai gave an undertaking in court that the State would present the indictment at the next hearing.
The presentation of the indictment indicates that the matter is headed to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban.
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