UPL criminal investigation ‘still in progress’ three years after toxic chemical spill in Durban

Narend Singh (Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment) briefs the media ahead of the delivery of the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s budget vote at GCIS Media Centre on July 15, 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. The budget vote will outline the Department’s 2024/2025 key priorities and articulate measures to set the agenda for the Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment sector. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan)

By Tony Carnie

15 Oct 2024

Environmental Affairs Deputy Minister Narend Singh says his department is offering ‘input’ to the NPA on criminal charges against agrochemical giant UPL regarding the environmental impact of a 2021 warehouse fire.

More than three years after thousands of tonnes of pesticides and other toxic chemicals polluted Durban rivers, the sea and the air in several residential areas, there is still no clear indication on when or whether Indian agrochemical giant UPL will face any criminal charges in court.

Responding to questions from Daily Maverick at a media briefing on October 15, national Environmental Affairs Deputy Minister Narend Singh indicated that the case was “still in progress”, but his department remained focused on rehabilitating the impacts of the 12 July 2021 chemical fire and spill in rivers adjoining the gutted UPL chemical warehouse in Cornubia, Durban.

National Environmental Affairs Deputy Minister Narend Singh. (Photo: Gallo Images / Misha Jordaan)

Three months after the fire, the Green Scorpions environmental management inspectorate laid criminal charges against UPL in case number CAS 06/09/2021 at the Verulam Police Station.

Following indications that the case had either been dropped, or was proceeding slowly, Daily Maverick sent questions to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in August 2023 about the progress of the case.

In response, the Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal, Advocate Elaine Zungu, stated that:

“The docket was referred to NPA in October 2021. The prosecutors have been guiding the investigations on the matter. An investigation into such a matter requires expert evidence and therefore will take time to deal with.

“The prosecutors must ensure that there is evidence under oath which establishes a crime and thereafter that such evidence links someone to committing the offence. Prosecutors are always accountable for their decisions and therefore they must ensure that the decision is correct.”

Read more: Two years after UPL chemical inferno outside Durban, still no sign of a criminal trial

This week, we asked Deputy Minister Singh if he could throw any further light on the matter, or explain the long delays in either pursuing or dropping the case.

He responded: “The criminal charges are still in progress. The NPA is dealing with that, together with input from our department.”

Singh stated that the focus of his department had been on rehabilitating the environmental impacts of the incident, which occurred when a mob set UPL’s chemical storage warehouse alight during the July 2021 riots.

UPL, which declined to make any further comment on 15 October 2024, has previously indicated that it had no control over the spillage because “the repeated attacks, as well as the unrest which prevented a rapid response, resulted in the brand-new facility’s security and state-of-the-art safety features being overwhelmed.”

Read more: UPL’s cleaned up water is ‘safe to drink’ … but not for their main consultant, thanks

Nevertheless, a preliminary government report published in August 2021 suggested that, based on the information currently available to the investigative team, there were indications of several contraventions of environmental, fire and city regulations or bylaws.

These included the alleged “unlawful storage” of dangerous goods and indications that UPL may not have undertaken a mandatory environmental impact assessment and other applications in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act read with the Major Hazard Installation Regulations.

A separate class action civil court case was instituted against UPL in the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court in Durban in July 2024 by Johannesburg-based LHL Attorneys, based on alleged health damage and loss of income by indigent communities due to the pollution impacts. DM

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