ACADEMICS from the University of Zululand and other local and international institutions presented empirical research on factors that contributed to the 2021 unrest from July 9 to 18 in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
The research was presented at the 28th South African Sociological Association Conference on Friday, which was hosted and organised by The University of Zululand.
The findings were a result of qualitative research conducted through focus groups and interviews with scholars, religious and community leaders as well as journalists.
Dr Sheetal Bhoola, a sociology lecturer from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zululand, was the first author and was the principal investigator of the study. The other contributors included Professor Dasarath Chetty, Dr Nolwazi Ngcobo, Dr Jos Chathukulam and Professor John Moolakkattu.
Bhoola said the research found that racial discrimination, hierarchy and capitalism have become entrenched in South Africa during the post-apartheid period, but had always been characteristic of apartheid society.
“The July 2021 riot is one of many protests that communicated the need for effective measures towards the development of a more equal society.
“This qualitative study, which documents the perceptions of community members in KZN, illustrated that the current economic circumstances and the resultant social inequalities indicated by racial capitalism can be considered as relevant determinants of the riots.
“Data revealed that perceptions of racism stem from pre-existing racial tensions created by apartheid between Africans and Indians in KwaZulu-Natal.
“This study contributes to the documentation of the prevalence of violence in post-conflict societies in the global south and the continued existence of racial capitalism in South Africa.”
She said the future value of these findings could assist in identifying effective social cohesion measures to prevent the recurrence of such riots.
“When democracy was inaugurated in South Africa in 1994, there was widespread hope that the country would be able to create a rainbow nation based on the Freedom Charter adopted by the South African Congress Alliance in 1955, which committed to the creation of a non-racial democratic country.
“Forming a progressive constitution with a lot of emphasis on citizens' rights was another remarkable feature.
"There have been ongoing debates and investigations among South Africans as to why the July 2021 riots took place. South Africa is known for its high degree of violence and crime, which has been attributed to the legacy of the apartheid era. A high degree of social cohesion deficit is a key hindrance to realising the lofty ideals the freedom fighters aimed at.”
Nineteen interviews were conducted, where Bhoola spoke to 14 males and five females of the following race groups: seven Indians, three coloureds, seven Africans and two whites.
She also spoke to five activists, three religious leaders, three municipal employees, one ward councillor, two journalists and five academics. There were also four focus groups.
Bhoola said the majority of participants said there were primarily three motivations for the perpetrators to initiate and sustain urban riots for eight days.
“The political protest in support of South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma to not be jailed and the factions in the ANC. Secondly, South Africans have experienced food insecurity, poverty, and unemployment.
“Lastly, racial tensions predominantly between Indians and Africans living in KZN came to the fore when rioters who were predominantly Africans attacked and looted Indian-owned businesses in and around the centre of the city and the area of Phoenix.
“This led to the Indian community feeling and believing they were targeted based on racial discrimination. Racial profiling at vigilant roadblocks led to bloody confrontations and the death of approximately 36 people.
“Residents of Phoenix joined forces with their racial grouping, either African or Indian. There was a lack of concern for human dignity as violent protesters continued physically harming people not from their race group.
“The attacked responded with violent approaches too, which was the onset of conflict that was termed as a racial war by the media.”
Bhoola said the various views of the participants highlighted the unique and complex relationship between race, economic inequality and violence in South Africa.
“These complexities also contribute to the lack of proactive social cohesive policies and strategies development. The discussions affirm that poverty, unemployment, poor service delivery, horizontal inequality and the lack of government interventions exacerbated by racialised capitalism are contributing causes of the July 2021 riots.
“Central to understanding racism within the context of South Africa's history of racial economic and social injustices are the applicability and the conscientious and deliberate perceptions of Africans being perceived as inferior to Indians.”
She said further in-depth studies needed to be undertaken to determine how relevant this mindset was in present-day South Africa.
“The varying negative perceptions that Indians and Africans have of each other can be destructive and can impact effective cohesive interventions.
“ The concepts of superiority, discrimination, and inferiority need to be integrated so that the concepts of racism and race can be perceived and understood appropriately within the South African context.
“The value of a cohesive society needs to be illustrated to South Africans through programs that build self-perceptions of national identities and allow for the shared commonalities and values within ethnic and racially divided communities to be enhanced.”