45 fatalities reported as protests flare-up in Gauteng and KZN despite soldiers deployment
With at least 45 fatalities reported Mzansi is more than worried. Yesterday, President Ramaphosa indicated that the government was deploying soldiers into the streets to bring back lost order as protests flared up.
However, it has since been established that at least 45 people have died in the looting and violence. The protests came in the wake of the incarceration of former President, Jacob Zuma last week. Gauteng premier David Makhura says 11 more fatalities have been recorded. However in total; the Gauteng province has recorded at least19 deaths.
Makhura was briefing the media at the Ndofaya mall in Soweto on Tuesday. He says one of the deceased is a Metro police officer.
“The number of those who have died has jumped to 19 as a result of the 10 that died in the stampede in this shopping centre here during looting late afternoon the police discovered that in the evening. We have a Metro Police officer from Ekurhuleni, a member of the EMPD, he was shot at.”
45 fatalities reported as protests flare-up in Gauteng and KZN despite soldiers deployment
However, in KwaZulu-Natal, Premier Sihle Zikalala says 26 people have lost their lives in the past few days. Addressing a virtual media conference, Zikalala warned that the province must not descend into its violent past where political violence in the 1990s saw scores killed in the province.
“These episodes of violence are inflicting many lasting scars. The latest fatalities confirmed by the security cluster in KZN are standing at 26 these were people that were killed in stampedes as protestors ran riot. As of last night, law enforcement agencies have arrested 187 suspects.”
However, it was recently reported that EFF takes Ramaphosa head-on wants clarity on the deployment of soldiers to violent hotspots. Despite having a backlash on social media over their stance on the deployment of soldiers to violence hotspots EFF has issued an ultimatum to the President.
In the wake of this deployment, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has given President Cyril Ramaphosa until the close of business on Tuesday to clarify the deployment of soldiers to violence hotspots.
In an urgent letter from the EFF’s lawyers, sent last night, the party asks the president to clarify the legal basis for the deployment of the national defence force, the powers the soldiers will have at places of unrest and a copy of an agreement between the South African Police Service and the SANDF.