Ngizwe Mchunu flanked by his supporters in front of the Randburg Court of First Instance.
PHOTO: Ntwaagae Seleka, News24
- Former Ukhozi FM radio personality Ngizwe Mchunu faces charges of incitement to violence and violation of the Disaster Management Act in connection with the July riots.
- Mchunu admitted that the 15-month sentence against Jacob Zuma angered him.
- A police officer testified that Mchunu addressed reporters in Bryanston, where he incited violence.
A senior police officer testified that the violent scenes prompted him to file criminal charges against the alleged instigator of the July riots, Ngizwe Mchunu, a former Ukhozi FM radio personality.
Colonel Mxolisi Edwin Nama told the Randburg Magistrate Court that Mchunu instigated some of the riots in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Nama was the first state witness to testify against Mchunu, who had previously pleaded not guilty.
Nama said that he opened the case against Mchunu after violent scenes, allegedly provoked by Mchunu’s statements.
READ | July riots: In tears, alleged instigator Ngizwe Mchunu says he was ‘targeted’ for showing support for Zuma
The colonel claimed that the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma had angered the former Ukhozi FM DJ.
Nama added that if Mchunu and others who were not happy with the Constitutional Court’s ruling against Zuma, they should have used legal channels to object.
“To encourage people to fight is to incite. Zuma has a large following… the violence was meant to be a consequence.”
Nama said that before Zuma’s incarceration in Estcourt prison, those who were against the Constitutional Court ruling made violent statements.
‘State of chaos’
“Meetings were held, followed by an uprising in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Looting of businesses and highway burning of trucks characterized some uprisings. It was a state of chaos.”
He said:
The situation led the police to be on high alert. I also received complaints from the public at the time. Most were those whose businesses had been looted. The situation was uncontrollable.
“As the police moved from one place to another in an attempt to control the situation, they were required to be on high alert to control the situation. In that state of alert, I became aware of the meetings that would take place .in Gauteng”.
Nama claimed that Mchunu then addressed reporters in Bryanston, where he incited violence.
“When he made his statement, there were sporadic riots in KwaZulu-Natal. He said Zuma should not be jailed. He encouraged people to fight back,” Nama said.
READ | ‘I’m innocent’: Suspected instigator of July 2021 riots says charges against him are ‘garbage’
Mchunu pleaded not guilty to inciting and causing public violence, violating the lockdown, and calling a meeting in violation of the lockdown rules.
He stated that he did not know where those charges emanated from and accused the State of lying.
Mchunu admitted that Zuma’s imprisonment angered him.
“I do not condone any type of violence. I pleaded with my fellow Africans to stop destroying the infrastructure. I did not incite any type of violence,” Mchunu said.
More than 300 lives were lost in the riots and millions of rand worth of infrastructure was destroyed.
The hearing continues on December 7.
