Civil unrest suspect facing arson charge denied bail

Ndumiseni Khetha Zuma, 35, was denied bail in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrates’ Court where he appeared on Monday to face charges for his alleged involvement in the civil unrest and burning of the Brookside Mall in KwaZulu-Natal in July.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Natasha Kara, said Zuma had appeared to face charges related to incidents of looting and public violence that occurred in KwaZulu-Natal in mid-July, in particular, the burning of the Brookside Mall. 

He is facing two charges of contravening the Riotous Assembles Act.  The charges included incitement of public violence and incitement of arson.  

Zuma was denied bail and the matter was remanded to 25 November 2021 for further investigation.

Several people have been arrested in KZN and Gauteng and are facing charges of incitement to commit public violence during the week of unrest in July. Among the suspects are FeesMustFall activist Bonginkosi Khanyile who appeared in court in Durban to face charges last week. Khanyile is also facing charges for allegedly violating the Covid-19 lockdown regulations by holding public gatherings at the Warwick Avenue taxi rank and in the Durban CBD. 

He addressed the public at one of the gathering just a day before the unrest broke out in the CBD. Khanyile called for the public to support former president Jacob Zuma who had been sentenced to 15 months in jail for defying a Constitutional Court order to appear before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. 

Zuma eventually handed himself over to the police and started serving his sentence in the Estcourt prison just several days before the unrest broke out in the two provinces. Hundreds of shopping malls, banks and businesses were damaged and destroyed during the violence riots and looting. The civil unrest cost the local economy billions of rands in damage to infrastructure and stock.