Violence was pre-planned: RamaphosaSouth Africans on Saturday cleaned up shopping centres and stores looted during a week of shocking violence that rocked the country and left more than 200 dead. Aid organisations also handed out food in communities that had been cut off from main roads or where food shops were ransacked in the unrest. The violence — the worst in post-apartheid South Africa — erupted after former President Jacob Zuma was sentenced to 15 months in jail for snubbing a corruption inquiry. His successor President Cyril Ramaphosa, who came to office promising to curb graft, said the riots were a “coordinated and well-planned attack” on the country’s young democracy. Mr. Zuma, whose home province is KwaZulu-Natal, commands support among loyalists in the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

Source: The Hindu July 17, 2021 14:37 UTC