MSM: South Africa riots: The inside story of Durban's week of anarchy

After protests and looting tear through South Africa, the nation wonders: What now?

“Things can be recovered ... but there is an impact in the community,” said Richard Ncube, 40, a former police officer.


Windows were smashed, the parking lot was filled with debris, and “Free Zuma” was spray-painted on the facade of The Ridge, a once-pristine center that sits on Shallcross Road, a major thoroughfare in Durban, a city of 600,000 people on the eastern coast of South Africa.

“Things can be recovered ... but there is an impact in the community,” said Richard Ncube, 40, a former police officer whose cellphone repair stand looking out at The Ridge was also burgled in violence that convulsed the country in the wake of former President Jacob Zuma’s detention on charges of contempt of court last this month during his separate corruption trial.

“People who are staying here, buy here," he said. "Now it's pretty difficult for them. Where are they going to get food?”

People across South Africa are surveying the damage caused by the politically triggered riots. The city of Durban has estimated over $1 billion in damages and lost goods, which, along with 129,000 jobs at risk, could amount to a $1.4 billion hit to the port city’s gross domestic product.

Image: Richard Ncube, left, and Dawood Phillip had devices and parts stolen from their cellphone repair shop during widespread unrest in Durban, South Africa last week.


South Africa’s struggle to end whites-only rule and the brutal apartheid system without plunging into civil war made it an international byword for a victorious fight for democracy. Despite gains made in the last two decades, and even though it runs Africa’s third-largest economy now, millions of South Africans are still struggling, particularly during worsening economic conditions stoked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Violence like what happened last month shows that South Africa must reduce historic levels of inequality and crack down on official corruption, which experts say fueled the unrest. If it doesn't, such flashpoints could become more common, experts and residents fear.

“Our children are going to grow up knowing that looting is not a crime,” Ncube said. “In 10 years to come, we'll be doing this every year.”



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Last Edited by Digital mix guy Spock on 08/05/2021 03:41 PM