- Ten people were arrested in Durban for crimes related to the unrest in mid-July.
- Among the charges faced are murder, attempted murder and malicious damage to property.
- The accused are expected back in court on Friday.
Ten people appeared in the Verulam Magistrate's Court, north of Durban, on Monday for incidents related to the unrest that brought the country to its knees.
NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara said the 10 people appeared on charges of incidents which took place in parts of the greater Durban area two weeks ago.
WATCH: @NPA_Prosecutes spokesperson Natasha Kara says 10 suspects appeared in the Verulam Magistrate's Court today for crimes related to #UnrestSA. Some of the charges include murder and attempted murder. @TeamNews24 @News24 pic.twitter.com/UrtG2CJY6P
— Kaveel Singh (@kaveels) July 26, 2021
The charges varied from murder, attempted murder, possession of stolen property, malicious damage to property, unlawful possession of firearm/s and ammunition.
"The matters were held in camera to protect the identity of the accused persons as identity parades are yet to be conducted," Kara said. "All matters were remanded until Friday, 30 July, for bail consideration."
Some of the accused are thought to be involved in murders in the Phoenix area, where there had been reports of racial profiling during community roadblocks.
Communities erected roadblocks at the height of the unrest after looters targeted stores, malls, petrol stations and other key points in the city.
While many neighbourhoods said the roadblocks were erected in an attempt to repel looters, many felt black South Africans were particularly discriminated against at many of the checkpoints.
Over the weekend, police spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili said a flurry of social media posts, claiming the fatal shooting of an Indian man was linked to the recent multiple murders in Phoenix, was fake news.
In a statement on Saturday, Muridili said there had neither been a shooting incident of this nature, nor had there been a shooting that occurred recently in the vicinity quoted by the said social media posts.
She added that some of the accused were allegedly connected to more than one murder case, while others were expected to face charges related to attempted murder, malicious damage to property and defeating the ends of justice.
The police were not ruling out more arrests related to the Phoenix murders as detectives were working around the clock on the case.