South Africa Has Been Hit By 5 Days Of Mob Violence Sparked Via Jailing Of Ex-President Jacob Zuma
South Africa is in the grip of its worst unrest since the end of apartheid with shopkeepers firing at looters and a woman throwing her child from a burning mall roof as violence sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma entered its fifth day today.
At least forty five people have now died - which includes 10 trampled to death during a stampede at a looted shopping mall - in riots centered round KwaZulu-Natal and Guateng provinces that commenced last week and raged thru the weekend after 79-year-old Zuma was once jailed for failing to cooperate with a corruption probe.
The army has been called in to assist stem the unrest after fearful citizens began forming 'defence squads' to guard their residences and businesses amid warnings that food supplies could soon run short as grocery store owners shut up shop amid the enormous looting.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who Zuma and his supporters accuse of carrying out a witch-hunt towards him with the corruption probe, appealed for calm as mobs ransacked shopping malls on Monday night - saying the current unrest is the worst the country has seen since the overthrow of white minority rule in the 1990s.
While the roots of the disturbances may be political, Ramaphosa said, peaceful demonstrations have now been hijacked by 'opportunistic criminals' who are 'instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft'.
'Together, we will defeat those who seek to destabilize our country,' he said. 'We will stand as one people, united towards violence, unanimous in our commitment to peace and to the rule of law.'