SINCE the dawn of democracy, South Africans have been treated to a series of colourful claims about alleged plots to overthrow the government.
The most recent and serious of these came during the July 2021 unrest, a dark chapter marked by massive looting, racially motivated killings, and widespread destruction, with Durban at the epicentre. In the days that followed, then-Minister of Police Bheki Cele and Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni promised imminent arrests of “twelve instigators” said to be behind what they called an “insurrection.”
Yet, how a supposed coup attempt devolved into the theft of groceries, appliances, alcohol, and clothing has never been fully explained. Nor have we ever learned the true identities of these alleged masterminds. Many of those initially linked to the plot have since been acquitted.
This week, Ntshavheni again hinted at a plot to overthrow the government, a statement that coincides with the four-year anniversary of the July unrest. It also comes just days after KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi made damning allegations implicating individuals connected to the criminal underworld.
Of the many alleged coup plots South Africa has heard over the years, only one, the 2002 Boeremag conspiracy, has led to successful arrests and convictions. That plot, orchestrated by white right-wing extremists, involved a series of bombings.
Fast forward to the present. With the State Security Agency now under the Presidency, Ntshavheni’s recent comments carry even more weight and responsibility. Allegations of coup plots are not things to be mentioned casually, without evidence or detail. In a country as politically fragile and socially volatile as ours, such statements can fuel fear, deepen mistrust, and invite dangerous speculation.
Our safety and security cluster is fractured. Our military has been hollowed out. Our intelligence services are ensconced in political party factionalism.
Without facts, evidence, or transparency, Ntshavheni’s claims are nothing more than a careless whisper. A dangerous one at that.