The days of violent riots in South Africa after ex-President Jacob Zuma came to prison are threatening to spread. They also spread to Mpumalanga and North Cape provinces on Wednesday. The preliminary results are appalling: at least 72 people died. The desperate population of several townships is already taking vigilante justice. They formed their own troops to drive away the looters.
The vigilante groups in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng tried to prevent the violence from spilling over into residential areas. Entire industrial estates there were looted and set on fire. In addition to hardware stores, snack bars, electronics stores and supermarkets, clinics and vaccination centers were also attacked, which led to an interruption of the Covid-19 vaccinations. In addition, supply bottlenecks are already looming. The cessation of public transport is also being considered. The damage to the country’s previously ailing economy is now estimated at tens of millions.
Government sent soldiers
According to the government, the military, which has meanwhile been mobilized to support the police, was stationed primarily at strategic points around hospitals and airports, but also in the Alexandra township near Johannesburg.
The riots began as a form of protest against the imprisonment of ex-President Zuma; within a few days, however, they developed into large-scale riots. Anger and disappointment over social inequality, which still exists 27 years after the end of apartheid, has now come back into focus.
Zuma was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for disregard of justice, which he served last Wednesday. During his term of office (2009–2018) he had to answer to a commission of inquiry into various allegations of corruption, but did not accept a subpoena.
