The EFF in KwaZulu-Natal legislature has tabled a motion in which it wants a committee set up to probe what could have led to the demise of 36 people in the Indian township of Phoenix during the height of July 2021 unrest.
The red berets believe that the move will bring closure and justice to many families who lost their loved ones.
“The EFF calls for the house to establish an ad hoc committee to investigate the cause of the Phoenix massacre and further receive submissions from the public on the impact and the aftermath of the massacre in those communities,” said party leader in the province Mongezi Twala.
The party also said the state should foot the bill for the educational needs of children of those who perished in the Phoenix killings.
The motion quickly turned into counter-accusations between the EFF and the DA, with the blue party insisting that the red berets have no interest in seeking justice for the victims, but are using the emotionally charged issue as a political tool.
“This opportunist motion by the EFF is all about grandstanding and making an issue about Indians living in Phoenix,” said MPL [member of provincial legislature] and member of DA caucus Bradley Singh.
“As a resident of Phoenix, I can categorically state that Indian people in Phoenix are not racist as claimed by the EFF and its commander-in-chief. Africans live side-by-side and have been doing so for decades.”
The IFP’s Blessed Gwala said any initiative should not divide communities along racial lines.
“The IFP believes that what happened in Phoenix and in other areas where murders with deep racial undertones were committed should be condemned, and the culprits appropriately punished,” Gwala said.
“No death should be celebrated, irrespective of what the reason might be.”
The July 2021 unrest in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng culminated into the looting of shops and torching of property. More than 300 people were killed in the weeklong violence, which was triggered by the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma.
In Phoenix, the violence degenerated into a racial war between Indians and black people, and vigilante groups claiming to be protecting their properties from being looted unleashed a reign of terror, killing over 36 people.
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