The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has successfully convicted the first person said to be responsible for inciting the July 2021 riots in KwaZulu Natal.
Mdumiseni Zuma, 36, was sentenced to an effective 12 years in prison by the Pietermaritzburg Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Spokesperson for the NPA Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says Zuma made an inciteful video, pertaining to the Brookside Mall which he shared on the WhatsApp platform.
She says during this time, the mall was looted and burnt to the ground.
The July riots, which made international headlines, resulted in the deaths of more than 350 people with thousands arrested and millions of assets destroyed.
Ramkisson-Kara says during Zuma's trial evidence was led of video footage, audio clips and testimony of a guard who worked at the mall.
She says the manager of the mall also testified that the estimated damages caused by the looting and fire were approximately R500 million.
He also testified that about 5 000 people were unable to access their SASSA grants.
SABRIC
The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) said nearly R120 million in physical cash was stolen from ATMs and bank branches during the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The money was stolen from at least 1 227 ATMs and another 310 bank branches which were vandalised or destroyed during the eight consecutive days of looting in the two provinces.
This figure includes 256 machines that were breached and 36 that were physically stolen from their site, never to be seen again.
In addition, 82 in-branch safes were also breached, and that the sum of hard cash stolen excludes all further infrastructural damage and replacement costs.
Convictions
In September of 2022, Njabulo Ncube was sentenced to eight years in prison after he stole groceries from a shop in Umbilo worth R27 000.
Meanwhile, in July this year, the so-called Woolies looter avoided jail time after pleading guilty.
Instead, he was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years in the Durban Regional Court.
Mbuso Moloi is still under correctional supervision and must do 16 hours of community service a month.
