Planned national shutdown falls flat
A fragile calm hung over Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal as both provinces remained on high alert yesterday despite threats of a national shutdown and further unrest failing to materialise.
Authorities said the strong presence of army troops and a beefed-up security footprint by SA Police Service (SAPS) and metro police left little room for protesters to break the law.
This followed reports about “inflammatory messages” calling for a shutdown of key areas in the provinces, including the Union Buildings in Tshwane and the governing ANC’s headquarters in Johannesburg.
Last month, looters and protesters heeding a call to demand the release of former president Jacob Zuma from jail unleashed anarchy and looting that reduced parts of KwaZulu-Natal, including the sprawling Durban Metro and the capital city Pietermaritzburg, to rubble.
As many as 51 people were reportedly killed in the province, with 36 of those deaths in the hotspot of Phoenix. The murders became a flashpoint of racial tensions between black and Indian residents, forcing political, community and religious leaders to take measures to prevent a race war.
The current estimated cost of damage and relief required at provincial department level exceeds R2bn, while municipal damage amounts to R74m. KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala has declared the province a national disaster area. Provincial leaders have said the figures are not final.
The violence and destruction of property in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal left more than 300 people dead and cost the economy, which was already reeling from the effects of the pandemic, about R50bn. Key infrastructure was destroyed and supply chains disrupted.
The security cluster has been widely criticised for not acting timeously during July’s unrest, which lasted a week before calm could be restored.
On Monday, law enforcement personnel were stationed at the proposed start of a march at King Dinuzulu Park in central Durban. However, march organiser Mandleynyoka Ntuli confirmed that approval for the protest was not granted in time.
In Johannesburg, metro police spokesperson Wayne Minnar confirmed there were no incidents at hotspots by late on Monday afternoon and traffic was flowing freely along the city’s major routes.
The security measures came after a confidential crime intelligence report was leaked that forecast looting and other unrest. The report for the eThekwini outer north cluster classified the probability of planned protests in eThekwini at level 4 risk, which is considered major.
The intelligence followed a widely circulated message and posters “confirming” information about violence targeting specific sites around Durban and the planned march in the city.
In the message a group called “Protest Action SA”, which claims to have 14,000 members, called for Zuma’s release and the removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa from office. They also had concerns that Covid-19 vaccines were being imported from Cuba but not Russia.
Zikalala and eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda reassured residents that law enforcement agencies would remain on high alert to prevent further unrest.
“We want to assure the people of eThekwini, which was hardest hit in the unrest, that all law enforcement agencies are working together to ensure that people’s lives and properties are protected,” they said.
On Monday, security was tight on the N3 the main arterial trade route into the province
— to avoid a repeat of the July blockades and burning of trucks. Security personnel also guarded roads to national key points and the ports.
Most street vendors, informal traders and foreign-owned businesses in townships and the Durban central business district closed shop for the day.
THE SECURITY MEASURES CAME AFTER THE LEAK OF A CRIME INTELLIGENCE REPORT FOR THE ETHEKWINI OUTER NORTH CLUSTER