Army deployed in two South African provinces after violent protests

Published on : 07/12/2021 – 14:04

Looting and fires spread Monday, July 12 in South Africa, the fourth day of violence initially triggered by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. A protest movement fueled by economic desperation, aggravated by the restrictions imposed since the end of June in the face of a deadly third wave of Covid-19.

The South African army will lend a hand to the police in the province of Kwazulu-Natal, in the east of the country, where the violence has erupted since Friday, and in Johannesburg where it then spread.

Soldiers were seen patrolling the streets of Pietermaritzburg at midday, but the army said in its statement that “the deployment will begin as soon as all the preparatory processes are in place. The duration of the deployment and the number of soldiers mobilized will be determined “according to the assessment of the situation on the ground by the police,” the statement said.

The role of the military will be “to ensure security and a safe working environment so that the police” can do their job in better conditions, says the army, while the police, widely deployed on most sites of violence, has been often overwhelmed in recent days.

Charred cars, burnt businesses …

On Monday morning, gray carcasses of burnt cars littered the streets of central Johannesburg and other neighborhoods stormed the day before.

The police, widely deployed and whose helicopters fly over the megalopolis, had already arrested 219 people Monday morning between the economic capital of the country and the Zulu region.

In the town of Pietermaritzburg, many stores had remained closed as a precaution. A shopping center was set on fire there. Local televisions showed live scenes of businesses robbed by groups in a hurry, chased by police firing rubber bullets to disperse them.

Jacob Zuma’s refusal to appear

Meanwhile, the hearing before the Constitutional Court, the one which sentenced Jocob Zuma to 15 months in prison for contempt at the end of June, extended into verbal battles between his lawyer, Dali Mpofu, and nine of his judges.

Jacob Zuma was found guilty by this court “because he was summoned to appear” before the commission investigating state corruption under his presidency (2009-2018) “and he did not appear”, recalled Judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga to refocus the debates.

The former president played cat and mouse with this commission, which has already heard about forty testimonies implicating him, using all conceivable pretexts to evade his subpoenas.

Jacob Zuma’s lawyer should plead once again that his client is too old – he is 79 years old – to be imprisoned and that he risks contracting Covid-19 in prison in particular, arguments already rejected last week by a court lower.

Jacob Zuma, who has been sleeping since Thursday in the modern prison of Estcourt, in Zulu country, will be able to claim, like any prisoner, for parole after serving a quarter of his sentence, or nearly four months, recalled the Minister of Justice .

With AFP