KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala Says 26 People Killed As Protests Continue
- Premier Sihle Zikalala says the death toll in the KwaZulu-Natal province has now reached 26 as violent protests continue
- Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday morning, Zikalala stated that the economic effects of the looting will be felt in years to come
- Zikalala has pleaded with people of the province to not disrupt the function of hospitals and clinics
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KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala announced in a media briefing on Tuesday morning that the death toll in the province has now reached 26.
The majority of these deaths are thought to have occurred as a result of a stampede, according to eNCA.
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"As a province, we're going through a lot of pain and difficulty," he said.
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Zikalala stated the police have managed to make arrests and as of Monday night, 187 suspects have been arrested.
According to Zikalala, the province anticipates that the damage to both public and private facilities will cost at least R1 billion. He added that the social cost caused by the violence, destruction of infrastructure and looting could last for years.
In addition to business being looted, Zikalala said that health care workers were unable to report to work and oxygen deliveries to hospitals were also being blocked by protestors, according to The Witness.
Zikalala has urged protestors not to disturb the functionality of clinics and hospitals.
“It is disturbing that protesters are stopping health vehicles from delivering much-needed oxygen to hospitals. We urge everyone that no matter what the circumstances, they should not disturb the running of our hospitals and clinics," he said.
Zikalala also stated that KwaZulu-Natal's Covid-19 vaccination programme has been paused while ambulances transporting Covid patients to hospitals.
Duarte: ANC condemns violent protests, concerned about Duduzile Zuma's tweets
Briefly News recently reported that ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte stated that the ANC condemned the violent protests and widespread looting and theft taking place in parts of South Africa.
Duarte's statement comes after a special ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting that took place over the weekend.
While there are claims that the protests are being fuelled by members of the ANC, Duarte stated that ANC leadership had not heard of structures within the party convening to discuss plans to start the violence, according to Daily Maverick.
Duarte did say that individuals had been identified and their names have been handed over to the police for further investigation.
She said five to six people were identified in KwaZulu-Natal, one person in Soweto and another person was identified in Mpumalanga as instigators of the violent protests.
Duarte further added that it was difficult to link these individuals to the ANC as they were linked to other corruption scandals.
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Source: Briefly News
