Aerial footage showed mobs ransacking and setting ablaze shopping malls and buildings in cities across SA on Tuesday, with dozens of people reported killed as grievances initially unleashed by the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma boiled over into the worst violence in years.
The protests that followed Zuma’s arrest last week have widened into looting and destruction and an outpouring of anger over the hardship and inequalities that persist 27 years after the end of apartheid.
Looters raided warehouses and supermarkets in Durban, which is one of the busiest shipping terminals on the African continent and an import-export hub.
In Gauteng, Tshwane metro police and police officers continue to be involved in running battles with looters as violent protests continue to spread.
At least 72 people have died during looting and civil unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, according to police who confirmed violence has spread to two other provinces.
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