South Africa's 2021 KwaZulu-Natal Riots Will Happen Again Unless We Fix the Underlying System
The 2021 KwaZulu-Natal riots that killed over 70 people are back in the news as South Africa's Police Commissioner testifies that the government had the capacity to prevent them. But the real question isn't whether authorities could have stopped the riots, it's whether the underlying conditions that sparked the violence have been addressed. With extreme poverty, unemployment, and political disillusionment still plaguing South Africa, this analysis explores why these riots are not a one-time event but a warning sign of systemic failure. The solution isn't more government control or shutting down social media, it's decentralization and empowering communities to govern themselves.
The 2021 KwaZulu-Natal riots remain one of the most violent and chaotic events in South Africa's recent history. Over 70 people were killed, many in stampedes as thousands looted food, electric appliances, liquor, and clothing from stores. Shopping malls and warehouses were ransacked or set ablaze across several cities, primarily in former President Jacob Zuma's home province of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as in Johannesburg and the surrounding Gauteng Province, South Africa's financial and economic center.
The riots began after Jacob Zuma was sent to jail for contempt of court for refusing to appear during his corruption trial. What started as protests quickly escalated into widespread looting and violence. People walked out with everything from food and clothing to fridges, beds, and furniture. The scenes were apocalyptic—entire communities descended into chaos.
The Police Commissioner's Testimony
These riots are back in the news as KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has testified in parliament. He believes the South African government had the capacity and ability to prevent or stop these riots from happening. This contradicts the 2021 statement by Police Minister Bheki Cele, who claimed authorities weren't able to respond appropriately because they never received intelligence.
Mkhwanazi's view centers on the role of social media. He noted that people used platforms, particularly WhatsApp, to incite others to participate in the riots and to distribute information on how to build petrol bombs. His conclusion? The government should have shut down social media.
Whether shutting down social media is an appropriate response to a riot is highly questionable and a debate for another day. But this testimony opens a fundamental underlying question: Will we see such riots again in South Africa? The answer, unfortunately, is yes.
The Coke and Mentos Metaphor: Understanding the Riots
Back in 2021, during these riots, I had a friendly disagreement with a friend of mine who is a researcher on the nature of these riots, particularly regarding their source and origin. Broadly speaking, my view was that these riots happened because the underlying circumstances were already in place—that it was just a matter of time. My friend's view was that these riots happened because there was probably a group of people who actively planned it, incited it, and encouraged people to start the violence. In other words, there was a spark.
On the face of it, these riots happened because Jacob Zuma was sent to jail. This is what we know. But there are underlying questions about why these riots were so big and so violent.
We had this disagreement for a day or two until my friend used a metaphor that led us to believe we were actually on the same page. The metaphor was that we could think of these riots like a can of Coke that erupts if someone adds a particular ingredient like a piece of Mentos. The argument was that if this particular ingredient wasn't added, we would not have had the soda geyser—the eruption that occurs when a particular ingredient is added. In other words, there was a spark that created this eruption.
My response was that this may well be true, but that the eruption wouldn't have happened if it wasn't Coke in the first place. In other words, if the underlying ingredients weren't there—if it was simply a glass of water and the necessary ingredients were added—there would not have been this reaction.
And so these riots happened because of two factors:
One, the underlying factors were there, as a result of which society was ripe for influence or incitement to this effect
Two, the necessary incitement did in fact happen
The Underlying Ingredients Are Still Present
I'm sorry to say that the necessary ingredients are still evident in South Africa—and in fact, the situation is worsening. Why? Because we still have extreme levels of poverty and unemployment in South Africa. We still have disillusionment with people who feel that politicians do not represent them. People are angry about their circumstances, having waited to be lifted out of poverty, and they're upset that this hasn't happened and isn't getting better.
Why is it not getting better? Because we have a political system in South Africa that facilitates this failure—a highly centralized government that is completely detached from realities on the ground level. This government actively works to render people dependent on it, which traps them in a cycle of poverty and unemployment, as opposed to implementing the necessary policies to ensure that people would be able to flourish.
The Solution: Decentralization and Self-Governance
That is why at Lex Libertas we believe that the solution is a systemic solution—that the solution is decentralization and the promotion of self-governance.
Why? Because currently, if people are dependent on the South African government, the burden is on the government to ensure that people are uplifted from poverty, despite the fact that actually no government has ever been able to achieve this. But if the focus were to shift to the communities themselves, the burden would be on the community, not the government.
It is not a perfect solution, but it certainly is a much better solution than what we have currently. But while we have these circumstances in South Africa, I'm afraid to say that it is just a matter of time before we see riots again like the ones we saw in 2021.
