At least 45 people have been killed amid the violent protests taking place in some provinces in South Africa over the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma.
The protests mainly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng have led to looting and destruction of some property.
Gauteng Premier, David Makhura said on Tuesday that 19 people had died in the province since the start of the violence.
10 of those deaths were due to a stampede at the Ndofaya Mall in Meadowlands, Soweto on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile in KwaZulu-Natal, the Premier there Sihle Zikalala said 26 people have also died as a result of riots.
There are fears the death toll could increase further in the coming days if the unrest continued.
Zikalala said “The latest fatalities confirmed by the Security Cluster in KwaZulu-Natal as of this morning stands at 26.
These were people that were killed during stampedes as protesters ran riot in areas including Umlazi, KwaMashu, Inanda, Phoenix, uMgungundlovu and northern KwaZulu-Natal.”
Government has called on the public to report incidents of incitement and acts of violence to the police https://t.co/Uc2cGWgXh3 #ViolentProtests
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) July 13, 2021
Police have also arrested hundreds of people for the violent unrest as the military makes efforts to bring the rioting under control.
Soldiers were deployed to areas in South Africa where the deadly protests have continued to take place.
The protests first started from Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal, then to Johannesburg, in Gauteng.
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday appealed for calm saying that “there are those who may be hurt and angry”, but “there can never be any justification for such violent, destructive and disruptive actions”.
The jailing of a former president is unprecedented in South Africa, which has been gripped by Zuma’s legal turmoil.
Mr. Zuma said going to jail without trial was something he fought against during the white-minority apartheid rule.
South Africa: Jacob Zuma in prison to serve 15-month jail term
Source: Africafeeds.com
