WATCH | Dealership hit as looters help themselves to batteries and tyres

Solar panels, batteries, sound systems, tyres, fridges, TVs, power tools and the list goes on.

These are some of the high-end valuables that looters in Springfield Park, Durban, carried away from dozens of stores including Makro, car dealers and electronic shops on Tuesday, without any police or army vehicle in sight to stop them.

TimesLIVE witnessed looters ripping off solar panels in the parkade of Marko — in about an hour every single solar panel had been removed.

Inside Makro, looters had begun organising themselves, creating some sort of order amid the chaos.

A number of individuals had placed themselves in charge at the head of this criminal operation — stopping looters from entering the store and asking them what they wanted.

They would then get the desired products and hand over the looted goods to those requesting them.

Many people offloaded their loot into their vehicles, some driving top-end cars parked on the main road.

Looters also set up a mini market on an adjacent field to Makro, selling their stolen goods to anyone willing to purchase the wares, which were openly displayed, including alcohol. 

One of those carrying some goods from the shop, Mbuso Khambule, 26, said the protest went far beyond Zuma's release 

“We walked from Mayville informal settlement around 7am after we heard from other settlements around this area that they had been looting here all night. At some point it was about Zuma, but it has gone beyond that now. Some of us don't even know what's going on with his case,” he said.

Khambule said earlier they had aimed for alcohol but now they were concentrating on getting as much food and non-perishable items as they could. 

— Additional reporting by Mluleki Mdletshe

TimesLIVE

Watch the latest videos from the South African streets below: