Government is acting to restore order in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, Pandor assures Namibia

International Relations Minister, Naledi Pandor, has told Namibian media that government is acting to restore order in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

She was speaking during her visit to Windhoek.

Pandor says they are also working on ensuring the free flow of goods to neighbouring countries such as Namibia, Eswatini and Zimbabwe.

Twenty five-thousand SANDF troops are expected to be deployed to the areas to quell the current civil unrest.

Looting continues unabated in Merebank, south of Durban:

Church leaders hold prayer service

Church leaders have added their voice to growing calls for an immediate end to the ongoing looting and destruction of property. They say such behaviour cannot alleviate poverty, but will instead entrench it.

Church leaders under the banner of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) held a prayer service at the spot where 10 people were killed during a stampede as crowds looted and damaged property at Ndofaya mall in Meadowlands, Soweto.

The death toll of that tragedy has now risen to 11.

The SACC’s Mzwandile Molo has pleaded with those who have looted to return items that do not belong to them.

“We are aware that the issues of poverty are deep in this country. We are aware that until this country finds a way to manage its affairs so that the poor and maginalised are brought into the center of what it is to have a good life this country will always be vulnerable to moments such as these,” adds Molo.

Seventy-two people have been confirmed dead after five days of violent protests and looting in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.