Gunfire and explosions echoed across the Durban metro as surreal scenes of anarchy witnessed only on TV or other news channels far removed from home played out in KwaZulu-Natal.
News of a military deployment offered desperate communities some hope of relief, but on Monday soldiers were not in sight as eThekwini is engulfed in a tsunami of unprecedented looting, unrest and arson that many never believed possible in our democracy.
Mobs are rampaging from store to store, clearing out shops and razing buildings, and there are growing concerns the province will soon be without fresh food and produce. Bread and fuel are already scarce.
So far, police have arrested more than 166 people in KZN. In scenes in and around Durban very few protesters are aware of the political brief to “free former president Jacob Zuma from jail”. Most have followed the crowds to access goods, products and food, as key cargo routes are closed.
And there is now fear that with nightfall, tensions will escalate.
A looter, who was part of a crowd on his way to ransack a local store near Overport, said: “We are angry. We have not come here to go home with nothing. Some of us will kill to feed the children. We are not afraid.”
The air is heavy with tension, fear and disbelief as rampaging mobs emerging from all quarters and settlements flooding the streets and systematically targeting shops and retail areas, leaving economic activity in ruins.
Looters with fully loaded shopping trolleys run openly along roads, fires burn out of control as overstretched fire services cannot operate without police escorts, malls being invaded and ambulances blocked from attending to emergency calls.
Normal life is at a standstill — residents have been asked to stay indoors — and business owners are worried about the economic fallout of the looting.
Elsewhere, hospitals and aged care facilities are running out of food and people in line for their vaccines fear what the delays might mean for themselves and the rollout to protect the elderly from Covid-19.
In a further terrifying escalation, unruly mobs have started invading homes, prompting calls for volunteers and “able-bodied” men to assist the overstretched police, community policing forums and security services.
Secure radio channels are being inundated with desperate reports of looting and calls for support, only to be told there are no more law enforcement units available.
Reports abound of residents starting to take matters into their own hands and fight back. Security companies have called on able bodied men in local communities to assist community networks to ward off criminals. In some areas, residents have formed human barricades to keep out looters. Others are opening fire on looters who try to break through the lines.
The big question is: at what point did support for Zuma’s release from jail turn into a looting frenzy?
Analyst Protas Madlala is adamant that while the looting may be loosely linked to the “free Zuma” campaign, it has had a more “opportunistic” outcome.
“I think it would be giving the architects of the ‘free Zuma’ campaign too much credit to say they planned this. What you can say is that the Zuma people and the looters preyed on each other. The looters highlight the frustration that people are living with.
“The extreme poverty, unemployment and other growing societal ills that have built up over the past 15 years. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has not helped at all,” says Madlala, adding that after Zuma’s supporters left Nkandla before his arrest last week, there was no violence or looting on the way home. Instead, he says, the entire situation shows a complete lack of leadership.
“The question that must be asked is, ‘where is national police minister Bheki Cele?’
“He is always parading on the Cape Flats with his hat. The president does not have the authority to deal with this. He is so remote from it all. This points to a lack of leadership in law enforcement.”
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