The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal says it will be taking action against the 19 party members identified as potential instigators of the July unrest, which resulted in the loss of almost 400 lives.

Last week, Police Minister Bheki Cele said 19 people had been arrested for incitement to commit public violence during the 2021 July unrest, with 86 more people on the radar of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations.

Speaking to a local news outlet, ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli said the party vowed that members would be disciplined. He said, though, that the ANC had to let the legal processes unfold before taking action.

He said the July unrest could have been avoided had former President Jacob Zuma not been incarcerated. Ntuli said this had angered many people in KwaZulu-Natal.

“The July unrest situation was brewed by the Judiciary towards their treatment to President Zuma. The judiciary had a responsibility to take decisions that are in the best interest of our country. It obviously incited the people on the ground and as ANC in KZN we did our best to contend with a very difficult situation,” said Ntuli.

He said the unrest was also influenced by poverty and blamed a poorly organised, weak ANC.

“Our intervention afterwards enabled us to resolve some of the issues of the unrest riots. The situation is different now after we went out to engage with the various structures of the ANC and without a doubt, there is a difference between the ANC of last year and the one of this year,” he said.