The cost of week-long rioting and looting is still being tallied and the lives of 276 people have been lost, some due to trampling during the looting that engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng and saw economic damage run into the billions of dollars, reports the Wall Street Journal in an opinion article.
The riots were triggered after former president Jacob Zuma was sentenced to a 15-month prison stay for contempt of court after he failed to appear before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into state capture allegations. During Zuma’s nine-year tenure as president, some $34 billion is said to have left the country’s coffers and the wealthy and well-connected Gupta family are said to have infiltrated Zuma’s inner circle so well that they were able to offer cabinet positions at will.
The internal ANC battle between Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa, his successor, allies’ rages on and the conflict seems to have been a flashpoint for the start of the unrest in the country. Zuma going to jail was a victory for the Ramaphosa camp.
The government and Ramaphosa’s camp place the blame for the riots squarely on the shoulders of Zuma supporters and last week authorities were able to arrest 12 people who were fingered as instigators of the unrest. Ramaphosa called the looting and protests a “failed insurrection” last week Friday.
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