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FILE | Members of a private security walk at a looted shopping mall
A fifth person has been added to the case of four individuals arrested in connection with the 2021 July unrest.
The accused appeared briefly in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court west of Johannesburg, where the case was postponed to the end of this month. The accused faces charges of conspiracy to commit public violence and two counts of incitement to commit public violence. They are out on R1 500 bail each.
The five accused are alleged to have posted inciting messages on a WhatsApp chat group named ZUMA REAL ACTIVIST 100%, which could have contributed to the 2021 mass violence and looting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal in the wake of the arrest of former President Jacob Zuma.
Among the accused is MK Party member, Bohadi Maphisa who faces similar charges in KwaZulu-Natal. Dressed in her full party regalia, Maphisa has maintained her innocence.
“I know that I do not have a case, I know that I am not guilty of anything. So, they can go as far as they want to go. My conscience is clear, I did not incite anybody to go and do anything,” says Maphisa.
Authorities believe the five circulated information on WhatsApp and these messages contributed to the public violence and looting of retail stores in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal at the time. Damages emanating from the unrest are estimated at millions of rand and scores of people lost their lives as a result. Maphisa says she will continue supporting Zuma.
“I feel that there’s a lot of injustice that is going on. When the public violence that I’m accused of starting, I was at work. I am a nurse by profession. Even if they want, they can go and check my register. I have signed in and out of work, so I do not know why I am charged for something I did not do. I know nothing of this. Maybe my son knows that I am a fan of my president, Jacob Zuma. And I will never let him go at any given moment,” Maphisa elaborates.
The matter will be back in court on the last Monday of the month.
VIDEO | Four people set to appear in court over 2021 July unrest
