Historical tensions between African & Indian communities may have contributed to deadly Phoenix attacks in 2021 - Commission

DURBAN - The Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission has found, among other issues, that historical tensions between Indian and African communities may have contributed to the deadly Phoenix racial attacks in 2021.

Thirty-six people were killed by alleged vigilantes who claimed to be protecting the community from looters during the July 2021 unrest - this also resulted in various businesses being looted and destroyed. 

The CRL Rights Commission, alongside the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on Monday tabled the reports of their investigative hearings into the July unrest.

Both Chapter 9 institutions held hearings in Durban and Gauteng between November 2021 and January 2022, with the bloody violence in Phoenix featuring as a bigger part of the Durban leg of the hearings. 

The CRL Rights Commission said its investigation was mainly focused on establishing what actually happened back in July 2021 in relation to the violation of people's rights. 

The commission said that it engaged various stakeholders, including community leaders from Phoenix and the surrounding areas, traditional leaders in the province and the victims of the violent attacks.

CRL Rights Commission chairperson, David Mosoma: "First, we found that there existed the historical relationship between members of the African communities and the Indian communities. Why? The mistrust of the Africans by the Indians allegedly led to the killing of Africans by the Indians, as cited by some members of the community, and this, in their view, has a historical genesis or historical origin in 1949 events."

Mosoma added there was mistrust between the communities in Phoenix and the surrounding areas, which had made it difficult for them to co-exist.

The CRL Rights Commission also said that the 2021 July unrest found already established mistrust and suspicions between the communities.