President Cyril Ramaphosa will give testimony on his responsibility as the head of state and the head of South Africa’s executive.
PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to appear before the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) National Investigative Hearing into the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng this Friday, April 1.
The SAHRC spokesperson Gushwell Brooks said the SAHRC will have a further sitting of its hearing.
“The President of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, will appear before the Hearing Panel and give testimony with regard to his responsibility as the Head of State and the Head of South Africa’s Executive with regard to the July 2022 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces,” Brooks said.
Ramaphosa joins a number of politicians that have appeared before the hearing panel and gave testimony of the events that took place in July.
Last month, the SAHRC continued its hearings into the July unrest. It was the second leg of the hearing, which focused on how events unfolded in Gauteng during the unrest and also featured the continuation of evidence from the KZN sitting.
The hearing panel was due to hear testimony from survivors, various community members, as well as industry players in commerce, private security and state officials.
The commission said the subject of the hearing was a matter of national concern and implicated various rights such as the right to security, the right to be free from all forms of violence, the right not to have one’s possessions seized and the right to life.
Our Constitution is founded on the principle of accountability. The commission’s mandate is, among others, to monitor and assess the observance of human rights in the Republic. Ultimately, it falls on the commission in terms of the Constitution of the Republic to investigate and report on issues where human rights have been violated and to take steps to secure appropriate redress.
In November last year, the commission was in KZN for the first phase of the hearing, where it heard testimonies from survivors, various community members, as well as industry players in commerce, private security and the South African Police Service.
The commission said the hearing received a positive reception from all quarters of the country and from many stakeholders, especially the public.
