South African president vows to restore order as dozens killed in violence

Cyril Ramaphosa said the deployment of 25,000 troops would end the violence

Police said some people were trampled to death while shops were ransacked (AFP/Getty)

South Africa’s president has pledged to bring back order after a week of violence sparked by the imprisonment of former leader Jacob Zuma.

South Africa’s unrest took off after Zuma began serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.

Zuma refused to comply with a court order to give evidence at a state-backed inquiry investigating allegations of corruption during his presidency from 2009 to 2018.

Speaking in the port city of Durban in hard-hit KwaZulu-Natal province, near Zuma’s home area, Cyril Ramaphosa said the chaos and violence had been “planned and coordinated” and the instigators will be prosecuted.

“We have identified a good number of them and we will not allow anarchy and mayhem to just unfold in our country,” Mr Ramaphosa said standing at the entrance to a looted mall surrounded by soldiers.

Mr Ramaphosa said the deployment of 25,000 troops would end the violence and rampant theft in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.

Protests quickly escalated into looting in township areas. In Durban, rioters attacked retail areas and industrial centres where they emptied warehouses and set them alight.

More than 2,200 people have been arrested for theft and vandalism and 117 people have died, said Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, acting minister in the presidency. Local police said some people were trampled to death while shops were ransacked.

Officials announced possible signs of a return to normality after the reopening of a strategic highway linking Durban and Johannesburg on Friday.

The military will patrol the highway but drivers are warned to use the road with care.

The military is also working to keep open the N2 highway, which links Cape Town to Durban, as highways are vital transport routes carrying fuel, food and other goods.

The rail line to the strategic Indian Ocean ports of Durban and Richard’s Bay was also closed by the unrest, the state-owned transportation company Transnet said earlier this week.

Includes reporting by AP