Violence in South Africa: there are already 337 dead in the riots that paralyzed the country

Death toll from wave of violent unrest and mass looting in South Africa recently stands at 337, reported the government of the southern nation. In any case, the authorities have specified that order is maintained and that there have been no more altercations in recent days.

“There have been no incidents of destabilization in either of the two provinces” Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the two regions affected by the unrest, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, acting minister of the South African presidency, said Thursday at a press conference. Among the additional deaths, resulting from deaths from injuries sustained during the riots, 79 took place in Gauteng (the province where Johannesburg and Pretoria, the two most populous cities in the country, are located) and 258 in KwaZulu-Natal (east).

“The police are continuing their investigations” to ensure that the instigators of the riots are brought to justice, Ntshavheni said. The acting minister confirmed that four people arrested for allegedly instigating violence in recent days – identified as Bruce Nimmerhoudt, Sibusiso Mavuso, Clarence Tabane and Ngizwe Mchunu – have already appeared in South African courts.

As Ntshavheni said, a total of 213 murder court cases have been opened as a result of the unrest in the country. Likewise, the government and various social actors continue to assess the millionaire damage – which includes significant damage to malls, factories and warehouses, small businesses and even schools – and the tools of economic aid for those affected. Police operations also continue for recover the stolen goods, which will, according to the Executive, be used as evidence and then destroyed, something that has caused great controversy in the country.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Amnesty International (AI) called on South African authorities to reveal “what they knew and when in the days leading up to the violence which are costing people’s lives unnecessarily ”. “The Minister of State Security was recorded saying that they had information and they passed it on to the Minister of Police, but they did not act,” denounced the organization. Ntshavheni maintained today that public disclosure of information from intelligence agencies “would not benefit the country.”.

This wave of violent incidents began on July 9 initially in the form of protests against the imprisonment of controversial former president Jacob Zuma (2009-2018) for contempt of court, committed by repeatedly refusing to testify for corruption. In the following days, the altercations reoccurred in other neighborhoods – notably in Johannesburg – and turned into a cascade of riots and massive looting unprecedented for South African democracy, with crowds razing shopping malls. and shops, burning buildings and vehicles and cutting roads. streets.

The outbreak of violence was thus fueled by pre-existing social problems, such as extreme inequalities, unemployment, high levels of crime. general in the country and unrest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was not until July 14 that authorities began to regain control of the affected areas, largely through the deployment of 25,000 troops to support the overwhelmed police. According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the incidents were “instigated” and “there were people who planned and coordinated them”.

(With information from EFE)

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