JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
Shops were looted overnight, a section of highway was closed and stick-wielding protesters marched through Johannesburg on Sunday, as sporadic violence following the jailing of former South African President Jacob Zuma spread.
The unrest had mainly been concentrated in Zuma's
home province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), where he started serving a 15-month
sentence for contempt of court on Wednesday night.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday there was
no justification for violence and that it was damaging efforts to rebuild the
economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zuma's sentencing and imprisonment have been seen
as a test of the post-apartheid nation's ability to enforce the law fairly -
even against powerful politicians - 27 years after the African National
Congress (ANC) ousted white minority rulers to usher in democracy.
But his incarceration has angered Zuma's supporters
and exposed rifts within the ANC.
Police said criminals were taking advantage of the anger
to steal and cause damage.
National intelligence body NatJOINTS warned that
those inciting violence could face criminal charges.
NatJOINTS said in a statement that 62 people had
been arrested in KZN and Gauteng, the country's main economic hub where Johannesburg
is located, since the violence began.
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department
(JMPD) said there had been looting in the Alexandra township and Jeppestown
suburb on Saturday night.
The main M2 highway was closed off after there were
reports of shots being fired at passing vehicles.
A crew saw a column of protesters brandishing
sticks, golf clubs and branches as they whistled and marched through
Johannesburg's Central Business District, where liquor stores had been burgled
and shop windows smashed.
The sale of alcohol is currently banned under
lockdown restrictions designed to ease pressure on hospitals during a severe
"third wave" of COVID-19 infections.
KZN police spokesman Jay Naicker said there had
also been more looting in eThekwini, the municipality that includes the coastal
city of Durban. "We saw a lot of criminals or opportunistic individuals
trying to enrich themselves during this period," he said.
Zuma was given the jail term for defying an order
from the constitutional court to give evidence at an inquiry that is
investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in power until 2018.
He denies there was widespread corruption under his
leadership but has refused to cooperate with the inquiry, which was set up in
his final weeks in office.
Zuma has challenged his sentence in the
constitutional court, partly on the grounds of his alleged frail health and the
risk of catching COVID-19. That challenge will be heard on Monday.
Parliament's presiding officers said on Sunday that
they were "sympathetic to the personal difficulties confronting former
President Jacob Zuma. However, the rule of law and supremacy of the constitution
must prevail".
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