“Mayhem” in South Africa: Mass Riots and Looting after Former President Sent to Prison, Army and Militia Deployed, Police Using Live Ammo on Roving Mobs
Local militias deployed to protect communities from looters
Widespread violence, rioting and looting broke out across South Africa over the weekend, following the sentencing of former President Jacob Zuma on corruption charges. Police were seen participating in looting. The Army has been deployed and is firing on rioters with live ammo.
The violence broke out on Friday in KwaZulu-Natal province after the former President turned himself in on Wednesday to serve a 15-month sentence for contempt of court after failing to comply with an inquiry over corruption under his Presidency. Zuma was the first Zulu leader of the ruling African National Congress, which has traditionally been dominated by the Xhosa people.
The ANC waged a bloody war against the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party under Xhosa leader Nelson Mandela 1994, which cost around 20.000 lives.
#Zuma #Unrest This is the aftermath of last night unrest at Mooiriver Toll Plaza, KwaZulu-Natal. Eight trucks set alight. N3 at Mooiriver remains closed. Stay safe.. @BOSBEER2006 @1SecondLater @EWNTraffic @netstartraffic @SALTruckers @MARIUSBROODRYK @SAPoliceService pic.twitter.com/1uz5TPFWda
— BOSBEER.COM (@BOSBEER2006) July 10, 2021
When the former President was sentenced to prison at end of June, supporters gathered around his sprawling estate of Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal province, with his brother and son vowing to “fight to the death”. After a tense week-long standoff, the government of current president Cyril Ramaphosa negotiated Zuma’s surrender on Wednesday without violence.
On Friday, riots and looting broke out in KwaZulu-Natal around the city of Durban, and spread to the capital of Johannesburg and Gauteng province. Roads were cut off and trucks torched. Mobs of looters stormed malls and warehouses, looting everything they could get their hands on.
The Dunlop tire factory outside Durban was looted by a mob of thousands of rioters, who torched trucks at the plant:
A video allegedly from Durban seemed to show South African Police Service (SAPS) participating in the looting.
Today, the government mobilized the South African National Defence Force ( SANDF), which began firing with live ammunition on the rioters.
Videos shared on social media showed dead bodies lining the roads and groups of rioters being handcuffed.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation later today as the SANDF deployed to quell violence.
Far-left anti-white leader of the “Economic Freedom Fighters” Julius Malema protested against the deployment of SANDF, posting on Twitter: “No soldiers on our streets! Other wise, we are joining. All fighters must be ready. They won’t kill us all. We need a political solution to a political problem, not soldiers.”
South African militias have implemented their civil defense and evacuation plans, and groups of citizens have banded together to defend their neighborhoods:
Civil defence org Suidlanders shared a call for help from Boksberg: “We need all the backup we can get here, guys, please. Even the police are too afraid to go out. I think there’s about ten or fifteen of us, and five or six police guys with us. We need serious backup. Don’t come alone.”
Another distress call came from Marburg in KwaZulu-Natal: “It’s mayhem here. All the Muslims, bargain wholesalers, they have blocked all the roads and they are armed to the teeth: Uzis, shotguns, AK-47s, handguns. It’s like a f***in’ movie scene. They’re not even listening to the cops. They’re parking 4x4s three deep, they’re gonna ride over them. They’ve got guys blocking the road and guys up on the roof with sniper rifles. They’re gonna take these f***s out. There’s gonna be a lotta f***in’ bloodshed. The cops are so understaffed, it’s unbelieveable. and the cops are running out of ammo. There’s gonna be stories here today.”
Suidlanders civil defence org spokesman Simon Roche told Gateway Pundit: “We are fearful this present violence could spread, given the widespread disaffection and poverty in South Africa among the masses. Suidlanders is not panicking, but we are on high alert.”
The rioting comes on the heels of the Firearms Amendment Bill aimed to make owning a gun in South Africa for self-defense illegal.
