At least 117 people have died in riots and looting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, acting minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said on Thursday afternoon.
These deaths were regrettable, she said at a briefing on
government's response to days of civil unrest in the two provinces.
Of the confirmed deaths, 91 were reported in KwaZulu-Natal
where the situation remained volatile and 56 in Gauteng, which was calmer on
Thursday.
“The situation in KwaZulu-Natal remains volatile but much
improved and is moving towards stability. Overnight to [this afternoon], 39
incidents have been reported and in addition, 392 arrests were made which makes
the cumulative number of arrests 1,478.
“We are pleased with the reports that Gauteng is largely
calm and that there have been fewer incidents overnight and thus far only six
have been reported. This has been largely due to increased deployment of SANDF
members, SAPS and metro police,” she said.
Between Wednesday and Thursday 139 more people were
arrested, bringing the cumulative arrests in Gauteng to 725. Ntshavheni said the government had been
alerted to six dead bodies at Thembisa Mall.
“To date, the SAPS have received reports of 26 deaths
cumulatively in Gauteng related to the violence. However, six bodies were
discovered on the roof of Thembisa South Mall. An inquest has been opened. We
need to clarify that these deaths are not related to the incidents of
violence.”
The acting minister moved to assure the country that
despite the damage to critical infrastructure and closure of some main roads,
there would not be food shortages.
“We will have enough food until the N2 and N3 are
reopened,” she maintained. Ntshavheni cautioned
community members against taking the law into their own hands by
shooting those damaging property.
On calls for a 24-hour curfew until the unrest had been
quelled, Ntshavheni said this was unwarranted at the moment and appealed for
trust in law-enforcement officials.
“There has been a de-escalation. Please be patient and
allow the military to stabilise the situation.”
TimesLIVE
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