Rioting in South Africa sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma continued Tuesday, with the death toll rising to 32 as police and the military struggled to quell the violence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces.
Many of the deaths occurred in chaotic stampedes as scores of people looted food, electric appliances, liquor and clothing from retail centers, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala told reporters Tuesday morning.
“Yesterday’s events brought a lot of sadness. The number of people who have died in KwaZulu-Natal alone stands at 26. Many of them died from being trampled on during a stampede while people were looting items,” said Zikalala.
In Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous province, which includes the country’s largest city, Johannesburg, six people have died, officials said.
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The deployment of 2,500 soldiers to support the South African police has not yet stopped the violence, although arrests are being made at some areas in Johannesburg, including Vosloorus in eastern Johannesburg.
Looting continued Tuesday in Johannesburg shopping malls in township areas, including Jabulani Mall and Dobsonville Mall in Soweto. There were also reports of continued looting in centers in KwaZulu-Natal.
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The violence started in KwaZulu-Natal last week as protests against the imprisonment of Zuma, who began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court. He was convicted of defying a court order to testify before a state-backed inquiry probing allegations of corruption during his term as president from 2009 to 2018.
The sporadic pro-Zuma violence spiraled into an outbreak of criminal theft in poor township areas, according to witnesses. So far the lawlessness has not spread to South Africa’s other nine provinces.
The Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, heard Zuma’s application Monday to have his sentence rescinded. Zuma’s lawyer argued that the court made errors when sentencing Zuma to prison. After 10 hours of testimony Monday, the court judges said they would study the arguments and announce their decision at a later date.
In a somber address to the nation Monday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed that the police and army would restore order, and appealed to all South Africans to work together for peace.
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Without naming Zuma, Ramaphosa said that the “violence may indeed have its roots in the pronouncements and activities of individuals with a political purpose, and in expressions of frustration and anger. ... However, what we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality, with groups of people instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft.”
He said the root cause of the rioting was South Africa’s high rate of poverty and unemployment.
“This moment has thrown into stark relief what we already knew: that the level of unemployment, poverty and inequality in our society is unsustainable,” Ramaphosa said. “We cannot expect a lasting and durable peace if we do not create jobs and build a more just and equitable society in which all South Africans can participate freely and equally.”
Police have warned that anyone using social media to encourage rioting may be arrested and prosecuted.
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The way the political protest against Zuma’s incarceration turned into wider rioting and looting highlights South Africa’s widespread poverty, unemployment and economic disparity, analysts said.
Many rioters were just poor, said Susan Booysen, director for research at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection.
“It is such a mixed bag because some other people are just taking advantage so they can grab things they could not have before,” Booysen said.
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“There is poverty and inequality. We also know that some are criminals looking to benefit. Often legitimate protests are exploited for that purpose,” she said.