South Africa Violence: On seeing the ongoing violence in South Africa, it has become uncontrollable. Shops are being looted and vaccination centers have to be closed due to violence.
In South Africa, 72 people have died so far in the violence that started after former President Jacob Zuma went to jail. At the same time, many people died due to being crushed in a stampede while looting the shops. Police and army fired stun grenades and rubber bullets to bring the situation under control. So far more than 1200 people have been arrested. The violence took place in poor areas of two provinces of the country, where a community radio station was vandalized and shut down.
The situation in the country has deteriorated so much that many vaccination centers had to be closed. Because of this many people have not been able to get the vaccine. Police Major General Mathapelo Peters said in a statement on Tuesday night that many of the deaths in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces were caused by the chaotic stampede, as thousands of people stole food, electrical equipment, alcohol and clothes from shops. He said 27 deaths were being investigated in KwaZulu-Natal province and 45 in Gauteng province. At the same time, regarding the death of people in the stampede, he said, the police is also investigating the death due to the explosion. Some people have also died due to firing.
Half of South Africa’s population lives in poverty
The violence began on Thursday last week, when former President Zuma handed himself over to the authorities to serve a 15-month prison sentence. After that he was put in jail. These unrest took place in townships of two provinces, where a large number of looting incidents have been reported. However, this violence has not reached the other seven provinces of South Africa. But the police is fully alert. More than half of South Africa’s 60 million population lives in poverty. The unemployment rate in the country is 32 percent. This is the reason why people have started looting under the guise of violence.
Why is Jacob Zuma in jail?
Former President Jacob Zuma was accused of rampant corruption during his tenure. Investigation started in this case. During the investigation, Zuma was to appear before the investigating officers and the court. But he failed to do so. Regarding this, the court found him guilty of contempt of court and sentenced him to 15 months in jail. Jacob Zuma vehemently denied the allegations of corruption against him. At the same time, after the sentence was announced, he handed himself over to the police last week to complete his jail sentence. He is expecting the sentence to be quashed or reduced by the country’s constitutional court. However, legal experts say their chances of success are slim.
Also read: South Africa: Violent demonstration of supporters of former President Jacob Zuma, 10 people killed, army had to take to the streets