Deaths rise as violence and robbery spread in South Africa South African news

Protesters clashed with security forces in several areas of South Africa and looters searched shopping malls on Tuesday in frustration over poverty and inequality as the country’s severe unrest over the years left more than 30 dead.

Many of the deaths were caused by chaotic accidents when food, electrical appliances, liquor and clothing were piled up in shopping malls, KwaZulu-Natal provincial Prime Minister Sihle Zikalala told reporters on Tuesday morning.

“Yesterday’s events brought great sadness. The death toll in KwaZulu-Natal alone is 26. Many of them died when they were trampled while people were stealing things, ”Zikalala said.

The bodies of 10 people were found on Monday afternoon after an accident at a shopping center in Soweto, where robberies were taking place in Gauteng province, Prime Minister David Makhura said on Tuesday.

Security officials said the government is working to prevent further spread of violence and looting, but has stopped declaring a state of emergency.

“The misfortune or personal situation of our people does not give anyone the right to rob, vandalize and do what they want and break the law,” Police Minister Bheki Cele said at a press conference.

It was violence caused by imprisonment Former President Jacob Zuma’s supporters took to the streets last week, but the situation has turned to anger as a result of South Africa’s persistent poverty and inequality 27 years after the end of apartheid.

The economic consequences of the COVID-19 cuts have exacerbated the problems.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced late Monday that this was the case sending troops overwhelmed police to help stop the unrest and “restore order”.

When troops went to the flash points on Tuesday, it seemed more than police that it was impossible to prevent attacks and robberies on businesses home in Zuma’s home KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng province, which is home to Johannesburg’s largest city. The columns of the armored transporters fell from the highways.

Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller complained from Johannesburg that the robberies and riots continued throughout the night and into the morning.

“The police are trying to manage the situation. Thieves are also trying to break into shops and stores with police, ”Miller said.

“We are also seeing people start to despair of the police and throw stones. Police are using rubber bullets and tear gas to try to disperse them,” Miller added.

We are still plundering Alexandra in Johannesburg. Police have left this particular street and the crowd has increased. Earlier police fired rubber bullets and people responded by throwing stones. Several buildings have been burned @AJEnglish #South Africa pic.twitter.com/4h9Kay9YTP

– Fahmida Miller (@FahmidaMiller) July 13, 2021

Shops, gas stations and government buildings have been forced to close. Looters displayed beer and food, appliances, photos and took at least one shopping area completely to the trash.

Shops were being looted in some parts of the coastal city of Durban, with no police visibility, Reuters news agency reported. Police and military patrols were being patrolled at a shopping center in Soweto, Johannesburg, while shopkeepers were assessing the damage.

Cele said 757 people have been arrested so far. He said the government will act to prevent further spread of violence and warned that the people will not be allowed to “make fun of our democratic state”.

Defense Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, speaking at the same press conference, said he did not believe a state of emergency had yet to be established.

Zuma was imprisoned

Zuma, 79, was convicted last month of challenging a constitutional court to testify in an investigation into high-level corruption in his nine years in office until 2018.

The decision to imprison him arose as a result of judicial proceedings seen as a test of post-apartheid South Africa’s ability to enforce the rule of law, as well as against powerful politicians.

But any confrontation with the soldiers will jeopardize the fact that Zuma and his supporters are victims of politically motivated repression by his successor Ramaphosa.

The violence worsened on Monday when Zuma filed a 15-month prison sentence in South Africa’s highest court. The verdict was kept until an unspecified date.

But as a result of the bad situation in 1994 the rule of white minorities ended and Nelson Mandela in South Africa’s first free and democratic vote revealed wider problems and unfulfilled expectations after the election.

The economy is struggling to recover from the damage caused by Africa’s worst COVID-19 epidemic, forcing it to repeatedly impose restrictions on companies that have already experienced a weak recovery.

The crisis may widen the gap between those who may and may not. Being out of work has left people increasingly frustrated. Unemployment was a new record of 32.6% in the first three months of 2021.

In a statement Monday night, however, Ramaphosa said: “What we are seeing now are opportunistic criminal acts. Groups of people encourage chaos as a cover for robbery and robbery.”