Report of the Commission of Enquiry in to the Riots in Durban
The terms of reference of Your Excellency's Commission were : ""
To enquire into and report upon the events which led to and the causes
of the recent riots in which Natives and Indians in Durban and vicinity were
involved; and should the Commission find that the riots were preceded by
strained relations generally between the said two racial groups, the causes of
the strained relations." .
The terms of reference were published for general information in the Government Gazette and newspapers circulating in the Union. Interested persons and organisations were invited to give evidence before the Commission, as well as to state their views on the subject of the investigation, and the Press gave wide publicity to this invitation.
Your Commission sat at Durban and held 24 meetings, 22 public sittings and examined 146 witnesses.
We wish to put on record our appreciation of the able and energetic assistance rendered by the Secretary, Mr. B. C.v. d. Merwe, who took abstracts of evidence from and at the hearing led numbers of illiterate persons who were anxious to put their averments or points of view to us and, but for his help, would have been unable to do so.