The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) is set to begin its National Investigative Hearing into the civil unrest that occurred in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July, to find the causes of the unrest, as well as evaluate its impact on human rights.

The hearing will take place between November 15 and December 3 and about R3-million was granted by the National Treasury for the hearings.

The Commission said considering the extent to which human rights were impacted during the unrest, it will, in the exercise of its constitutional and statutory mandate, host the hearing.

The hearing panel will be led by the Chairperson Commissioner André Gaum, Deputy Chairperson Commissioner Chris Nissen and Chief Panelist Commissioner Philile Ntuli.

Gaum said the first two weeks of the hearings would take place in KwaZulu-Natal and the final week in Gauteng.

Reports state that damages emerging from the claims being dealt with by the State insurance company in the wake of the unrest amounted to R25-billion.

Gaum said that it had been suggested that the unrest was orchestrated, that there was a high degree of organisation and instigation and that the authorities ought to have known and adequately prepared to secure the various towns and cities affected.

He said the unrest has deepened unemployment, poverty and rampant socioeconomic inequality in South Africa, adding that it had also exacerbated inequality between certain communities, hunger and food insecurity.

He said the Commission was also concerned with reports that many communities took to the streets to protect their neighbourhoods and businesses, with allegations of excessive use of force, racial profiling, assaults, arson, and killings in some places.