In the past seven days, South Africa has never come closer to becoming a failed state. The riotous looting has reduced Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the two provinces hit hard by the social unrest into what resembles warzones. The country quickly descended into what could be the beginning innings of a civil war, prompting the government to call up military reserves and seek deployment of up to 25,000 troops to quell the violence.
"It is a war zone . . . towns deserted, shops looted, bodies lying on the road," John Steenhuisen, leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance, in the province, told Financial Times. "We have an internal African National Congress battle that has spilled over on to the streets of KwaZulu-Natal . . . the initiative has been completely lost by the security services. They need urgent reinforcement."
Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal have been overwhelmed by black rioters, many of whom are supporters of former President Jacob Zuma, who was arrested earlier this month and sentenced to prison for corruption charges.
The arrest of Zuma sparked black unrest across the country, more specifically in the two provinces mentioned above.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has been unable to stifle the social unrest as local police and military troops have been outnumbered. The nation remains totally lawless.
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told parliament Thursday she had "submitted a request for deployment of plus-minus 25,000" soldiers. There was no word on when the additional troops would hit the streets.
Readers may recall, Wednesday evening, we reported South African Army Reserve has ordered "all Reserve Members" for duty on Thursday morning. There were no exact figures on how many reserves would be deployed.
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