South African parliamentary inquiry into unrest deferred due to jurisdiction issues

An urgent inquiry by South Africa's Parliament into the unrest, triggered earlier this month following the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma, has been deferred due to technical issues over jurisdiction.

The days-long violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces had left over 300 people dead and hundreds of businesses looted and burnt.

A joint virtual meeting of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Service, the Select Committee on Security and Justice, and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on Friday resolved to refer a request to establish an inquiry into the violence to Parliament's Presiding Officers for further consideration and decision.

The move was taken because there was an uncertainty about which committee was authorised to deal with the matter and a view that both Houses of Parliament, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, need to be involved in the inquiry.

"If there is doubt which portfolio committee must deal with a specific matter, the Speaker in consultation with the Chief Whip must decide the question, subject to any directions of the Rules Committee or a resolution of the Assembly," said a statement issued by Parliament on Friday.

Last week, House Chairperson of Committees Cedric Frolick had instructed to initiate a joint probe and report back to the National Assembly within two weeks.

"The joint meeting was of the view that the establishment of this inquiry remains of utmost importance in light of the violence, the impact of the looting on the economy and the loss of life as a result of the unrest.

"Nonetheless, the establishment of this inquiry must be legally sound and guided by the Rules of Parliament and must take into consideration matters such as appropriate timelines to do its work and the composition of such a committee," the statement said.

Frolick had said the inquiry would take place as a matter of urgency to address a number of unexplained questions.

"One of the questions we will ask is why did it take so long for security services to respond...Secondly, was there any intelligence available,'' he told the national public broadcaster SABC.

Frolick had said an interim report should be made available before Parliament reconvenes on August 18.

Protests started on July 7 as Zuma started a 15-month sentence imposed by South Africa's apex Constitutional Court, which found him guilty of contempt of court. The protests rapidly devolved into looting and arson as huge mobs that outnumbered embattled police before President Cyril Ramaphosa called in the army to stabilise the situation.

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