EDITORIAL | Those supporting this violence must be brought to book

Scenes emerging from Johannesburg on Saturday night and into Sunday painted a picture of anarchy.

As the protests spread from KwaZulu-Natal up north to Gauteng — leaving two dozen torched trucks, burnt farmland and looted shops in their wake — the first loss of life was confirmed. A 40-year-old man was declared dead at a clinic in Alexandra after having been shot. The circumstances around his death are being investigated, but it is almost certainly linked to the riots.

Police also reported that a group of about 800 people opened fire on officers trying to quell the violence, hitting some of them. One officer was hospitalised and two others required medical treatment.

That there has been injury and possible loss of life is unsurprising, such has been the nature of the riots.

Shops have been looted and vehicles torched and stoned. Live rounds, according to Johannesburg metro cops, were being shot at vehicles along the M2, with the freeway closed to traffic in at least two areas.

Jeppestown, Malvern, Alexandra, Maboneng. Protesters have hit these and other areas. Many parts of the CBD were “no-go areas”, metro police said on Sunday morning.

A warning is issued to those circulating inflammatory messages, inciting violence and lawlessness, that they refrain from doing so. The possibility of criminal charges being instituted against such people cannot be ruled out.

—  SAPS’s Col Brenda Muridili

Though the JMDP’s Wayne Minnaar wouldn’t confirm whether the protests were in support for the jailed Zuma, the fact that they happened in line with similar riotous actions in KZN by his ardent backers can’t be a coincidence. There might be opportunistic and criminal elements jumping in, but there can be no doubt, this violence was directly because of those backing a man not jailed for political reasons, as his lawyers and lapdogs might try spin it, but because he defied the highest court in the land and was found in contempt.

But while close to 70 people had been arrested for their roles in this violence, it simply cannot stop with them. There are people fanning these flames who need to be held to account. Some of them are nameless, faceless people hiding behind anonymous social media profiles and widely-shared text messages. But others are openly encouraging the fires.

One of them is Zuma’s own daughter, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla, whose Twitter feed has been full of support for the violence in recent days. Often sharing pictures of the protests under the hashtag #FreeJacobZuma, she would single out the locations and praise the rioters with “we see you” and “amandla”.

And, at 7.17am on Saturday, the president’s daughter tweeted: “GAUTENG! MPUMALANGA! FREE STATE! Are You There? Nisa Right? Nisaphila? Amandla!!! #FreeJacobZuma.”

Joburg’s metro police said the violence started there at about 10.30pm on Saturday, around 15 hours after this tweet. It could be coincidence, but it certainly wasn’t helping douse the fire.

And neither was the former president’s own foundation. Though not as vocal as Zuma-Sambudla, the foundation took to Twitter on Friday, saying that it took note of the “reactive righteous anger of the people of the RSA, which others have characterised as violence”.

“When approached, the people are saying they reacting to the violent provocation meted to them as manifested by incarcerating president Zuma without trial,” the tweet reads.

This is not a condemnation. This is tacit support of something which a few days later proved fatal.

On Sunday, the foundation issued a statement that came closest to calling for calm, without actually doing so.

"Dear People of South Africa. Please be safe out-there. No lives must be lost. Observe regulations including masks and social distancing," the foundation said.

The SAPS on Sunday morning said it wasn’t just looking at those on the ground of the protest action.

Col Brenda Muridili said: “A warning is issued to those circulating inflammatory messages, inciting violence and lawlessness, that they refrain from doing so. The possibility of criminal charges being instituted against such persons cannot be ruled out, particularly in the event of injury or death that may come as a result of any operational response by the security forces to these incidents of violence and opportunistic criminality.”

Speaking during his address to the nation on Sunday night, President Cyril Ramaphosa was vocal in his condemnation of the violence. No matter how “hurt of angry” you are, he said, there was no justification for such actions.

“Let us be clear, as a nation, that we will not tolerate acts of criminality. Those who are involved in acts of violence will be arrested and prosecuted. Those found guilty of breaking the lockdown regulations will receive the stipulated penalty. This will be done without fear or favour,” Ramaphosa said.

We welcome this, and hope that those working remotely in support of this violence are brought to book. The sooner, the better.