The hearings investigating the July Riots at the South African Human Rights Commission began on Monday, and the proceedings began with some shocking disclosures.
Death threats were made against President Ramaphosa during last year’s riots, according to Police Minister Bheki Cele, who verified this to the SAHRC.
Cyril Ramaphosa was a “target” for the instigators of the July riots.
Cele indicated that he intended to act quickly to stop the death threats, but that SAPS was limited in their abilities to track down the culprits. Ministers and their partners were also targeted in the messages, which were uploaded on social media:

“I was concerned because there were calls for President Ramaphosa to be killed. I inquired as to whether those social media posts could be followed up, but SAPS told me they weren’t equipped to do that.”
Bheki Cele

Bheki Cele’s testimony has certainly been eye-opening. He has admitted to glaring errors committed by Crime Intelligence bosses, and even revealed that his own personal disputes may have impacted the response to the riots. The hatted politician unpacked the build-up to the violence, which left over 300 people dead in KZN and Gauteng.

Minister Cele admits he could see ‘trouble brewing’, as he went to meet Jacob Zuma at Nkandla.
The top cop is convinced that Zuma’s arrest ‘was a major factor’ in sparking the July Riots.
Crime Intelligence, according to Bheki Cele, were ‘woefully unprepared’ for what unfolded.
In fact, the CI department has been accused of sabotage, by providing ‘zero intelligence’ on the matter.
In the build-up, social media posts also threatened ministers and their SPOUSES.
Crucially, Cele admitted his ongoing dispute with the National Commissioner ‘contributed to a lack of intelligence’.

A group of instigators had been identified by SAPS shortly after the riots broke out, but the process to hold these suspects to account has been painstakingly slow. President Ramaphosa was identified as a target by those baying for blood, and he can perhaps count himself lucky that he didn’t fall victim to a myriad of security failures.

#JulyUnrest Cele says he was concerned because there were calls for the President to be killed and he inquired whether those social media posts could be followed up and he was told SAPS wasn’t equipped to do that.

— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) February 21, 2022

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