Zuma protests in South Africa Across the country, violent discontent rages

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 07:56 am

The death toll in South Africa has grown to 72, with violence spreading across the country in the aftermath of former President Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment. On Tuesday, police clashed with crowds looting and setting fire to shopping malls in a number of cities. After ground-floor stores were stolen, the BBC filmed a baby being tossed from a burning building in Durban.

A day earlier, ten people were killed in a stampede at a Soweto shopping mall during looting. Since the disturbance began last week, the military has been dispatched to assist overworked police officers. In a statement, South African police said they had identified 12 people suspected of inciting the rioting, with a total of 1,234 people arrested.

READMORE: In a series of heated protests around KwaZulu-Natal, Supporters demand Zuma’s release

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the violence as some of the worst seen in South Africa since the 1990s, just before apartheid ended, with fires set, highways blocked, and shops and warehouses looted in major cities and small towns across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces. 

Ministers have warned that if looting continues, towns may soon run out of basic food supplies, but they have not declared a state of emergency.