On Tuesday, minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni announced that the government is aware of the potential risk of a coup in SA. It is a startling revelation the nation cannot afford to sneer at for many reasons.

First, the admission about the risk of a coup came during street protests in support of KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. Second, though sporadic, the fact that the larger protests took place in Johannesburg and Durban is worrisome, given what happened in 2021.

The riots that year, which were crushed on July 18, mainly took place in KZN and Gauteng, with Durban and Johannesburg being the epicentres of a relentless orgy of destruction of businesses, property and lives.

It is of great concern that the pro-Mkhwanazi marches reflected a strong presence of the MK Party in their military-style uniforms.  The strong presence of pro-Jacob Zuma supporters in the protests mirrors the environment of four years ago.

The riots then were sparked by Zuma’s incarceration after the Constitutional Court had convicted him for contempt of court, because of his failure to comply with a court order compelling him to appear before the Zondo commission investigating state corruption allegations.

The questions on the minds of law-abiding citizens when the 2021 rampage was unfolding, were: Where are the police? And, why did state security not see this coming?

Granted, despite the scale of the threat to state security, the 2021 riots did not carry a regime change agenda, as the focus was on creating chaos and looting. 

Ntshavheni’s comments cannot be taken lightly, however, as much as she assured the public that there should be no alarm.

We must ask the state that, if the potential risk of a coup d’état was identified, why have we not heard of the arrest of the plotters?

After the bombshells Mkhwanazi dropped about public safety being compromised by interference in the work of the police, how do ordinary South Africans trust the government that they are safe? 

And as for state security, it can never be clear how formidable that structure is today, more so given its detection of risk in 2021, but not allowing the police to act on it. The arrest last month of the head of crime intelligence, Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo, on corruption charges, raises more questions about the capability of the unit to respond accordingly to any threats against the state.

The question the public will be asking after Ntshavheni’s comments is what lessons the security cluster has learnt from 2021 July riots to ensure there shall not be a repeat?