<p>The deadly riots that rocked South Africa after ex-president Jacob Zuma was jailed last year exposed significant intelligence lapses by the police, according to an inquiry released Monday.</p>.<p>Security forces were overwhelmed by the July 2021 violence, the report found, in what was the deadliest unrest of South Africa's democratic era.</p>.<p>The report is the result of an inquiry by a government-appointed panel into the handling of the riots and was made public by President Cyril Ramaphosa Monday.</p>.<p>"There was a failure by the intelligence structures to anticipate and respond adequately to the violence," it found.</p>.<p>It said the intelligence services "failed to predict the nature, scale and modus operandi" of the violence while at the same time, the police had "insufficient capacity" to curb it.</p>.<p>Rampaging mobs overran dozens of shopping malls and warehouses, carting away large flat screen television, refrigerators, leather couches and cartons of fresh meat.</p>.<p>Some even hammered down automatic teller machines and emptied them of cash.</p>.<p>"The police admitted that the large numbers were overwhelming," it said.</p>.<p>The unrest broke out after Zuma was jailed for contempt over his refusal to testify before a commission probing state corruption during his reign.</p>.<p>The rioting and looting started in his home region, KwaZulu-Natal, before spreading to Johannesburg.</p>.<p>More than 350 people were killed and some 50 billion rands ($3.2 billion) was wiped off the economy.</p>.<p>The riots were largely organised by protesters on social media, the panel found.</p>.<p>The methods used by protesters, including widespread and simultaneous looting and the burning of buildings, took the police "by "surprise".</p>.<p>Police failed to "adapt their tactics to the situation facing them", the report said, adding they were "inadequately equipped and they ran out of crowd control equipment".</p>.<p>"There is no doubt that the police had insufficient capacity to stop the violence," it said.</p>.<p>Days into the unrest, Ramaphosa deployed around 25,000 troops before the order was restored.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>The deadly riots that rocked South Africa after ex-president Jacob Zuma was jailed last year exposed significant intelligence lapses by the police, according to an inquiry released Monday.</p>.<p>Security forces were overwhelmed by the July 2021 violence, the report found, in what was the deadliest unrest of South Africa's democratic era.</p>.<p>The report is the result of an inquiry by a government-appointed panel into the handling of the riots and was made public by President Cyril Ramaphosa Monday.</p>.<p>"There was a failure by the intelligence structures to anticipate and respond adequately to the violence," it found.</p>.<p>It said the intelligence services "failed to predict the nature, scale and modus operandi" of the violence while at the same time, the police had "insufficient capacity" to curb it.</p>.<p>Rampaging mobs overran dozens of shopping malls and warehouses, carting away large flat screen television, refrigerators, leather couches and cartons of fresh meat.</p>.<p>Some even hammered down automatic teller machines and emptied them of cash.</p>.<p>"The police admitted that the large numbers were overwhelming," it said.</p>.<p>The unrest broke out after Zuma was jailed for contempt over his refusal to testify before a commission probing state corruption during his reign.</p>.<p>The rioting and looting started in his home region, KwaZulu-Natal, before spreading to Johannesburg.</p>.<p>More than 350 people were killed and some 50 billion rands ($3.2 billion) was wiped off the economy.</p>.<p>The riots were largely organised by protesters on social media, the panel found.</p>.<p>The methods used by protesters, including widespread and simultaneous looting and the burning of buildings, took the police "by "surprise".</p>.<p>Police failed to "adapt their tactics to the situation facing them", the report said, adding they were "inadequately equipped and they ran out of crowd control equipment".</p>.<p>"There is no doubt that the police had insufficient capacity to stop the violence," it said.</p>.<p>Days into the unrest, Ramaphosa deployed around 25,000 troops before the order was restored.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>