South Africans have taken to social media to react to the unrest happening in parts of the country. Protesters in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng have taken to the streets demanding the release of former President Jacob Zuma.
Zuma is serving a 15 months sentence after the Constitutional Court found him guilty of contempt of court.
So far, 166 suspects have been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal and 323 suspects arrested in Gauteng relating to these incidents.
Under the hashtags including #ShutdownSA, #ShutDownGauteng, #ShutdownKZN, and #Zumaunrest users have been expressing their views about the situation the country is facing. While some have been calling for Alert Level 5 lockdown to deal with the current situation others are completely against stricter measures.
https://twitter.com/ChristoThurston/status/1413901932578676738
Hit a like if you suffer from lockdown exhaustion, fatigue & depression#level5 pic.twitter.com/0BXsvspVKm
— Black Brain (@brain_alchemist) July 10, 2021
https://twitter.com/lwanelersa/status/1413888534692388872
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday announced the deployment of the South African National Defence Force in support of the operations of the South African Police Service.
Let's hope the Deployment of the #SANDF to assist the South African Police Service will produce the results, and they will be no bloodshed. 🙏🏾🤔#ShutdownSA#ShutDownGauteng#PrayForSouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/vIBPU9HUNE
— Kag'sow_M🇿🇦 (@Kagiso_Mtsenga) July 12, 2021
I hope #SANDF is not heading to KZN 🤦🏿Let alone Gauteng.
— MADUMETŠA (@TeffuJoy) July 12, 2021
Stop calling for the #SANDF! There will be bloodshed #SAShutdown pic.twitter.com/MPjqsf4heI
— Ibanathi Ngcobo (@ibanathi) July 12, 2021
The Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has urged South Africans to say no to the deployment of soldiers. He has also warned against calls for a state of emergency.
No soldiers on our streets! Otherwise, we are joining. All fighters must be ready… they won't kill us all. We need a political solution to a political problem, not soldiers.#NoToSoldiers
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) July 12, 2021
Others share the same sentiment.
SANDF are not trained to control crowd. #NoToSoldiers
— Man’s NOT Barry Roux (@AdvoBarryRoux) July 12, 2021
#NoToSoldiers, there was never army deployment in Senekal. pic.twitter.com/DWzO2QoY3k
— Brian M Tloubatla (@_BrianTloubatla) July 12, 2021
When soldiers were deployed during level 5, how did that go?
Remember Collins Khoza.#NoToSoldiers
— Sixolise Gcilishe (@SixoGcilishe) July 12, 2021
Some malls have taken precautionary measures.
The safety and security of our shoppers and tenants is of the utmost importance to Mall of Africa. Additional security measures have been put in place. 2/3
— Mall Of Africa (@TheMallOfAfrica) July 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/NkanyeziKubheka/status/1414512276569219076
Since some shopping centres have been closed as the result of the looting, shoppers will now have to go far to get goods.
Unfortunately the malls being looted and subsequently destroyed are our places of proximity for goods and services. The privilege of walking across the road to buy at Jabulani Mall replaced the double transport of going to South gate but here we are, retreating to that system.
— Lawfluencer (@L_Nthodi_Law) July 12, 2021
https://twitter.com/Nemza13/status/1414198615136948226
While the police and the SANDF work to restore order, others are counting their losses.
It is painful looking at this brother who lost his business💔…This reminds me of the day when thieves came and stole at our restaurant… The demotivation to build again from scratch was just overwhelming…#ShutDownGauteng #ShutdownSA pic.twitter.com/R8y6FHKr1Q
— Fada Tshego (@FadaTshego) July 13, 2021
#SABCNEWS This car dealership owner lost 58 vehicles that were burned on Sunday during the riots and looting in Jeppestown. He estimates the damage to run to millions. pic.twitter.com/wCDvyUzGNM
— Tshepo (@tphagane) July 13, 2021
[WARNING: VERY STRONG LANGUAGE] VIDEO | Workers at a mall in Diepkloof, Soweto express anger and frustration following the looting at the mall, leaving them without a workplace to go to. #looting #GautengShutdownhttps://t.co/b4Zi2hXHNB
— SABC News (@SABCNews) July 13, 2021
11 more fatalities have been recorded since the beginning of the #zumaprotests bringing the total number of deaths to 18. This is according to Gauteng Premier David Makhura briefing the media at the Chris Hani Mall in Vosloorus. #ZumaUnrest #SABCNews pic.twitter.com/INl5U3DPDx
— Sipho King K Kekana (@KingKAzania) July 13, 2021
