An additional eight suspects have been arrested for inciting the 2021 July unrest that claimed over 300 lives and left a trail of destruction in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng.
The development was on Tuesday confirmed by Hawks head, Godfrey Lebeya, during a media briefing.
The latest arrests take the number of nabbed suspects to 43.
Lebeya said the eight were arrested in Gauteng and will appear before court soon.
He said: “The DPCI never stopped the investigations since. In fact, multi-disciplinary teams were formed to investigate. The DPCI and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) are satisfied that the investigation is ripe, hence the Hawks are landing.”
The case against 35 suspects was last week remanded to 26 August 2022 at the Durban Magistrate’s Court.
In the past two weeks, the Hawks in KZN arrested 25 in connection with the case.
On 12 August, 22 suspects appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on charges of conspiracy to commit public violence, incitement to commit public violence and incitement to commit arson, relating to the acts of looting and public violence that took place in parts of KwaZulu-Natal during July 2021.
Source: South African Government News Agency