As communities across parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal came together to clean up malls hit by violent riots this week, a teenager was shot dead as violence broke out in some areas.
Hundreds of people armed with shovels, plastics and brooms flocked to different malls that were looted when riots over the jailing of former president Jacob Zuma erupted in Gauteng.
At Jabulani Mall in Soweto, where people made off with fridges, wardrobes and clothes, among other goods, dozens of residents gathered to clean up the mess left behind after two days of unabated looting.
The shops were stripped.
Nkosana Nxumalo said they needed to unite against the looting, which they helplessly watched unfold.
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“All we could do when all of this was happening was watch. There were thousands of people here, not only from Jabulani, but Zola, Emdeni, Molapo, Mapetla. They all came here to loot,” said Nxumalo.
He said they wanted to show business owners they were capable of standing together with them in their time of need and frustration.
“What happened was wrong but we can't just fold our arms and say we can't do anything. We will do what we can,” he said.
When the Sowetan team arrived at Thabong Mall in Sebokeng, in the Vaal, on Wednesday morning, community members were waiting patiently for security guards to grant them access to the mall to clean up the mess left behind when hordes of people stormed the premises and looted shops.
Some had already gained entry and were sweeping.
Lerato Radebe, from Bophelong, said she and her friends decided they needed to help clean up the shopping centre close to home where they buy food and clothes.
“What our people did here is disgraceful and we are ashamed. But some of us know that this is our mall. We didn't have access to the sort of shops that were here before this mall was built. We’d have to go far to do shopping. Now we have been left in the same situation, with nothing,” said Radebe.
Palesa Mahlasela, an employee at Spar at Thabong Mall, said: “We know that things might be over. We know we may have lost our jobs but there is nothing else we can do. I am a member of my community and I watched this mall being built.
“It brought a lot of things closer to us. My grandmother was able to get her medication. We bought our groceries here. It's part of who I am.”
While these communities stayed hopeful that the violence would end, a 13-year-old boy was shot and killed during a skirmish between taxi drivers and a mob of looters trying to burn down a mall on Gauteng’s East Rand.
Vuso Dlamini was shot dead shortly before lunchtime near Chris Hani Crossing Mall in Vosloorus, just moments after the body of a looter was found behind the mall.
Taxi drivers from the Katlehong People’s Taxi Association and Ekurhuleni metro police officers had been involved in running battles with looters since the early hours of on Wednesday.
Taxi operators in KwaZulu-Natal were also asked to clean up taxi ranks so that operations could resume.
The SA National Taxi Council in the province said on Twitter: "[The] Santaco KZN chairman has directed that all taxi leaders in the province converge at their respective ranks for resumption of taxi operations. The industry will also help with cleaning efforts as part of bringing the province to normality.”
The army has been deployed to man roadblocks at a small mining town in Limpopo after threats of destruction of property.
Motorists in the Ba-Phalaborwa local municipality in Limpopo were stopped and car boots searched along major routes, including the R71 and R40
Ba-Phalaborwa mayor Merriam Malatji said in a statement on Wednesday that police intelligence had informed her of imminent looting and vandalism.
Malatji said police had learnt that multitudes of people from Mbombela, Mpumalanga, would be transported to the area to cause destruction.
“The residents will be transported to our town in a bid to loot and damage public and private property, thus putting the lives of our people at risk and our economy, which in the recent past managed to overcome a shutdown from communities protesting for meaningful participation in the mining sector,” she said.
Limpopo has more five areas that have been identified as hotspots.
Premier Stan Mathabatha's spokesperson Willy Mosoma confirmed that several areas in the province have been put under surveillance by intelligence.
“[These are] Burgersfort, Steelport, Dennilton, Seshego, Lephalale, Musina, SABC [offices in] Limpopo, the legislature in Lebowakgomo, Phalaborwa and [Eskom's] Medupi power station. The security cluster is aware of dissidents organising and all the hotspots are monitored,” said Mosoma. — Additional reporting by Graeme Hosken and Peter Ramothwala
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