At least 22 people have been killed in the unrest in South Africa over the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma. This raises the total death toll to 32. In addition, the police have arrested almost five hundred people.
In KwaZulu-Natal, the region where Zuma comes from and where the riots started, the death toll is 26. Rioters have looted shops and blocked roads with stones. Public transport is largely blocked, and the transport of food and medicines is also blocked. The South African army has mobilized on Monday to assist police in the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng regions, where the rioting is at its worst.
Zuma has been jailed for 15 months for failing to cooperate in an investigation into corruption during his presidency. Yet, despite these allegations, the former president is still popular among much of the population.
Zuma denies the allegations and initially refused to report to authorities. On Wednesday at midnight, he did so, just before the deadline that was imposed on him. Had he not done so before then, the police would arrest him. On Monday evening, a high court ruled that Zuma’s prison sentence remains in place.