Durban - The case involving the suspects accused of instigating the civil unrest in July last year was on Friday postponed to August 26 in the Durban Magistrate’s Court.
Twenty-two suspects appeared before court and received bail of R3 000 each by Magistrate Anand Maharaj, according to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
The suspects face charges of conspiracy to commit public violence, incitement to commit public violence and incitement to commit arson, relating to the incidents that unfolded during the unrest.
As part of their bail condition, the suspects were told not to post inciting statements related to their charges on social media.
They are to inform the investigating officer should they wish to leave the province as well as inform the investigating officer if they change their address or contact number.
Magistrate Maharaj postponed the case until August 26.
Twenty suspects linked to the unrest were arrested by the Hawks on Thursday during a multidisciplinary operation that was conducted across six provinces at the same time.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo confirmed the arrests.
“The ongoing prosecution guided investigation resulted in the arrest of 20 people of interest on 11 August 2022.
“Joint police teams were mobilised to execute simultaneous arrests in various areas so as to secure court attendance of persons of interest, spread out in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, North West, Free State, Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces,” said Mbambo.
Mbambo said the investigations were still ongoing and more arrests would follow.
IOL