Death Toll Hits 72 In South Africa Mass Riot Inspired By Zuma’s Jailing; Violence Spreads

'Dotun Akintomide
Writer

Ad

Global CEOs, Top Diplomats, Ministers, Governors, Industry leaders gather in New York to unlock the Gulf of Guinea’s over $800 billion Energy, Oil & Gas, Minerals, Maritime Opportunities

By Abiola Olawale Following the official opening of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80), New York, USA, high-level delegations from over a dozen countries, including global CEOs, top diplomats, ministers, governors, industry leaders will gather in New York to unlock the Gulf of Guinea’s over $800 billion Energy, Oil & Gas,…

Charted: Populations of China, India, U.S., and Europe (1950–2100)

Key Takeaways India is projected to remain the world’s most populous country through 2100, stabilizing around 1.5 billion people. China’s population is expected to fall by more than half, from 1.4 billion to 0.6 billion. Europe’s population will decline steadily, while the U.S. population grows gradually to 420 million. As global demographics continue to shift,…

Elon Musk drops to second place as AI boom powers Oracle’s Larry Ellison to world’s richest status

By Obinna Uballa Elon Musk has lost his long-held crown as the world’s richest person to Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, following a record-breaking surge in Ellison’s net worth. According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, Ellison’s fortune jumped by an unprecedented $101 billion on Tuesday night to reach $393 billion, surpassing Musk’s $385 billion. The windfall came…

Ad

  • S/Africans On Looting Spree

With AP Report— South Africa’s police say 72 people have been killed and 1,234 have been arrested in an unrest inspired by the last week’s jailing of former President Jacob Zuma.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, police Maj. Gen. Mathapelo Peters says many of the deaths were caused by stampedes of people when shops were being looted. He said 27 deaths are being investigated in KwaZulu-Natal province and 45 in Gauteng province.

In addition to the people crushed, he says that police are investigating deaths that appear to be caused by explosions when people tried to break into ATM machines and other shootings.

Hundreds have been arrested in the lawlessness that has raged in poor areas of two provinces, where a community radio station was ransacked and forced off the air Tuesday and some COVID-19 vaccination centers were closed, disrupting urgently needed inoculations.

Many of the deaths in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces occurred in chaotic stampedes as thousands of people stole food, electric appliances, liquor and clothing from stores, officials said.

The violence broke out after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court on Thursday. He had refused to comply with a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.

The unrest spiraled into a spree of looting in township areas of the two provinces, although it has not spread to South Africa’s other seven provinces, where police are on alert.

“The criminal element has hijacked this situation,” said Premier David Makhura of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg.

More than half of South Africa’s 60 million people are living in poverty, with an unemployment rate of 32%, according to official statistics. The pandemic, with job layoffs and an economic downturn, has increased the hunger and desperation that helped propel the protests triggered by Zuma’s arrest into wider rioting.

“We understand that those unemployed have inadequate food. We understand that the situation has been made worse by the pandemic,” an emotional Makhura said on the state South African Broadcasting Corp. “But this looting is undermining our businesses here (in Soweto). It is undermining our economy, our community. It is undermining everything.”

As he spoke, the broadcast showed police trying to bring order to the Ndofaya shopping mall, where 10 people had been crushed to death in a looting stampede. Gunshots could be heard in the background.

Makhura appealed for leaders of political, religious and community organizations to urge people to halt the looting.

At least 19 people have been killed in Gauteng, including the 10 at the mall in the Meadowlands area of Soweto, Makhura said.

At least 26 people have been killed in KwaZulu-Natal province, many crushed in shops, the province’s premier, Sihle Zikalala, told a news conference Tuesday.

The deployment of 2,500 soldiers to support the South African police has so far failed to stop the rampant looting, although arrests were being made in some areas in Johannesburg, including Vosloorus in the eastern part of the city.

More than 700 people were arrested in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, authorities said, but the situation was far from under control.

Looting continued Tuesday in shopping malls in Johannesburg township areas, including Jabulani Mall and Dobsonville Mall in Soweto. There also were reports of looting in KwaZulu-Natal.

In Daveyton township, east of Johannesburg, more than 100 people, including women, children and older citizens, were arrested for stealing from shops inside the Mayfair Square mall.

Some of those arrested were bleeding from shattered glass on floors slippery from spilled milk, liquor, yogurt and cleaning liquids that had been stolen from shops.

Running battles carried on as security and the police fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to push back rioters, who were entering the shops by going through delivery entrances, emergency exits and climbing on roofs.

Bongani Mokoena, an employee at an auto supply store, said the rioters had taken everything from the shop, including batteries and shock absorbers.

By late afternoon the police managed to secure the mall, but rioters remained outside, throwing stones at the police and shouting for the release of those arrested. As evening fell more rioters gathered around the mall and police set up barricades to try to keep them away.

In Soweto, the Chris Hani Baragwanath hospital reported that the number of injured people coming to the emergency ward had tripled from the daily average. The unrest forced the government to close some COVID-19 vaccination centers disrupting urgently needed efforts to inoculate thousands of those aged 50 and older per day.

In Johannesburg’s Alexandra township the Pan Africa shopping center continued to be ransacked and was set on fire on Tuesday.

The Alex FM radio station which has served the Alexandra community for 27 years was broken into at 2 a.m. Tuesday and thieves stole equipment worth 5 million rand ($350,000), forcing the station off the air, station manager Takalane Nemangowe said.

“Our on-air presenter and security guards got out safely through the back door,” Nemangowe told The Associated Press. “But the looters cleaned out our offices. They took all our broadcasting equipment, computers, laptops, microphones, everything.”

Nemangowe said that no police or army had been patrolling the area. The Alex FM station is community-funded and runs a training program for young residents, he said. “We were the voice of the voiceless here in Alexandra. And now we are silent. It is really sad.”

But Nemangowe had not given up hope. By Tuesday afternoon he and other staff had been offered facilities at a radio station in the nearby affluent Sandton suburb where they were trying to start beaming back to the Alexandra community.

Authorities have repeatedly warned people, including Zuma supporters and relatives, against using social media to encourage the riots.

Police minister Bheki Cele said Tuesday that about a dozen people have been identified as having instigated the riots.

The Constitutional Court, the country’s highest court, heard Zuma’s application to have his sentence rescinded on Monday.

Zuma’s lawyer argued that the top court made errors when sentencing Zuma to prison. After 10 hours of testimony, the judges said they would announce their decision at a later date.

Ad

Unlocking Opportunities in the Gulf of Guinea during UNGA80
X whatsapp