Faizel Patel – 12/07/2021

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for calm and stability “without any delay”  as the riots continue to erupt across the country.

Ramaphosa was addressing the nation on Monday on government’s response to persistent public violence in parts of the country.

This follows the violence that has spread from KwaZulu-Natal into Gauteng and seen shops and malls being looted since Friday.

More than 200 people have been arrested for public violence in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal and investigations are under way into six deaths.

Ramaphosa says parts of the country are reeling from several days and nights of public violence, destruction of property and looting of the sort rarely seen before in the history of our democracy.

“Some have characterised these actions as a form of political protest.This violence may indeed have its roots in the pronouncements and activities of individuals with a political purpose, and in expressions of frustration and anger.”

Ramaphosa says at the beginning of this unrest, there may have been some people who sought to agitate for violence and disorder along ethic lines.

“We know that the majority of our people have out of principle refused to be mobilised along these ethnic lines.However, what we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality, with groups of people instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft. There is no grievance, nor any political cause, that can justify the violence and destruction that we have seen in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.”

Ramaphosa says government will be mobilising all available resources and capabilities to restore order.

“As the Commander-in-Chief of the South African Defence Force, I have today authorised the deployment of Defence Force personnel in support of the operations of the South African Police Service. The National Security Council, which I chair as Commander-in-Chief, will be meeting twice a day to coordinate all measures necessary to restore stability.”

Ramaphosa says government will take action to protect every person in this country against the threat of violence, intimidation, theft and looting and will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and will ensure that they face the full might of the law.