Civil Unrest a Focus as President Cyril Ramaphosa Readies to Address the Nation
- President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Monday address the nation amid days of civil unrest and widespread public violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng
- The expected address comes a day after Ramaphosa announced that the country would remain on adjusted lockdown level 4
- The president has called for calm and warned against criminal elements citing that they stand to face the full might of the law
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President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on Monday as the civil unrest spreading across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng reaches high proportions.
Briefly News understands that the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma is at the centre of the upheaval with the unrest that started in KZN since moving to various parts of Gauteng, including several areas in Johannesburg and Soweto.
Source: Getty Images
In a series of tweets on Friday, Dudu Zuma-Sambudla insinuated the demonstrations were in retaliation over her father's imprisonment.
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The volatile protest action, after what have now been confirmed to be pro-Zuma supporters that went on the rampage, has since spurred cabinet into action with calls to deploy the military in the two provinces.
The latter continue to demand Zuma's release from prison after he was admitted to the Estcourt Correctional Service Centre on Thursday. He is expected to serve a 15-month jail sentence but may be released as early as three quarters into his sentence if paroled.
Stern warning against criminal elements amid widespread unrest
Ramaphosa's expected address comes a day after the announcement that the country would remain on adjusted lockdown level 4. Ramaphosa has called for calm and warned against criminal elements citing they stand to face the full might of the law.
The presidency said in a statement:
"The majority of South Africans do not and should not tolerate violence, the destruction of property and the endangering of livelihoods ... People are also asked to pay attention to what they post on social media and to be aware that the sharing of content that incites violence and looting is a crime."
Six people have so far been killed while more than 200 others have been arrested for the public unrest in the two affected provinces, according to a report appearing on the EWN website.
KZN burns, protests intensify amid alleged Zuma demonstrations
Police Minister Bheki Cele confirmed the arrest of at least 13 people believed to be linked to the protests, with more imminent arrests.
Pro-Zuma demonstrations have flared up in uMtubatuba, uMgababa, Durban, Ballito, Nkandla, and Richards Bay, among other areas. Zuma supporters, like him, put out the claim that courts were being used to fight political battles.
Briefly News reported recently that law enforcement said some of the protestors hijacked trucks and coerced drivers to block the roads before fleeing with truck keys.
"Maybe it is important that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DCPI) [and] the Hawks are invited so that we work together with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) [to quell the unrest].
"We want to make it from our side a very serious crime and if needs be, that those people go to prison for a very long time," said Cele, who was responding to the widespread scenes
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Source: Briefly News
