South African president vows to restore order to country after week of violence sparked by imprisonment of ex president Zuma
- Ramaphosa says the chaos in which more than 200 people died had been ‘planned and coordinated’ and that the instigators would be prosecuted
- Deployment of 25,000 troops would end the violence and rampant theft in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, he says
Standing at the entrance to a looted mall and surrounded by soldiers, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed on Friday to restore order to the country after a week of violence set off by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma.
Visiting the port city of Durban in the hard-hit KwaZulu-Natal province, Zuma’s home area, Ramaphosa said the chaos and violence in which more than 200 people died had been “planned and coordinated” and that the instigators would be prosecuted.
03:00
South Africa riots death toll hits 72 as ex-president Jacob Zuma starts jail term
“We have identified a good number of them and we will not allow anarchy and mayhem to just unfold in our country,” he said.
As army tanks rolled by the trashed Bridge City mall, Ramaphosa said the deployment of 25,000 troops would end the violence and rampant theft in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.
South Africa’s unrest erupted after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court for refusing to comply with a court order to testify at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption while he was president from 2009 to 2018.
