Connect with us

News

72 dead in South Africa’s Zuma riots, worst violence in decades

Published

on

 

 

 

No fewer than 72 people have died in South Africa, following days of protest over the jailing of former President Jacob Zuma.

The South African Police Service (SAPS), which gave the figure of casualties late Tuesday, also said 1,234 people have been arrested .

Notably the protests have now turned into rampant looting and riots, to become the worst violence in the country since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Crowds clashed with police and ransacked or set ablaze shopping malls in cities across South Africa on Tuesday, as anger over Zuma jailing boiled over.

Security officials said the government was working to halt the spread of the violence and looting, which has spread from Zuma’s home in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province to the country’s biggest city Johannesburg and surrounding Gauteng province, and to the Indian Ocean port city of Durban.

There have been reports of sporadic violence in two others provinces as well and “law enforcement officers patrolling identified areas of threat in an effort to deter possible opportunistic criminality,” SAPS said.

READ  Nigerian pastor’s wife shot dead in US

Soldiers have been sent onto the streets to try to contain the unrest.

Zuma, 79, was sentenced last month for defying a constitutional court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.

He also faces trial in a separate case on charges including corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering. He pleaded not guilty in court in May.

Zuma’s foundation said there would be no peace in South Africa until the former president was released from jail.

“Peace and stability in South Africa is directly linked to the release of President Zuma with immediate effect,” it said in a Tweet.

“The violence could have been avoided. It started with the decision of the constitutional court to detain president Zuma … This is what gave anger to the people,” a spokesman for the foundation, Mzwanele Manyi, told Reuters separately.

Troops moved into flashpoints on Tuesday as outnumbered police seemed helpless to stop the unrest, with columns of armoured personnel carriers rolling down highways.

READ  Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers: Obaseki, Shaibu feud: Edo disbands deputy governor’s media crew

The bodies of 10 people were found on Monday evening after a stampede at a Soweto shopping mall, Gauteng premier David Makhura said.

Hundreds of looters raided warehouses and supermarkets in Durban, one of the busiest shipping terminals on the African continent and an import-export hub.

Outside a Durban warehouse of retailer Game, looters stuffed cars with electronic goods and clothes, a Reuters witness said. Inside, the floor was a mess of discarded packaging as the crowd emptied the shelves.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Good Morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: Military commander killed in ambush by bandits in Katsina

Published

on

By

 

1. Military commander of an army camp located at Sabon Garin Dan’Ali, in Danmusa local government area of Katsina state has been killed in an ambush. Sources said the incident happened Thursday evening and the corpse of the deceased, a major in the army, was deposited at a hospital in Katsina.

 

2. Movement would be restricted for the duration of today’s local government election in Oyo State, the State Government announced on Friday evening. The restriction will help officials of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission, OYSIEC, to conduct the poll without hindrance.

 

3. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas and the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, were among the dignitaries who attended the wedding fatiha of the children of emirs of Kano and Bichi, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero and Alhaji Nasiru Ado Bayero, on Saturday.

READ  Tinubu, Aregbesola set to reconcile in interest of Yorubaland

 

4. President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND. This is contained in a statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity, on Friday.

 

5. Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, on Friday, urged his predecessors including Chief Samuel Ortom, to refrain from interfering in his administration, warning that he would not allow anyone to destabilise his government. Alia while briefing journalists on his return from the USA, Friday morning, said the past governors have had their own term.

 

6. The National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has said the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, led government in Kano State is behind the various protests against him in Abuja. Ganduje in a statement by his aide, Comrade Okpokwu Ogenyi, alleged that the Kano government had been hiring protesters from the streets, mostly Kwankwasiyya members, some of whom are from the North Central geo-political zone to demand his resignation.

READ  South Africa former President Jacob Zuma sentenced to 15 months in prison

 

7. The American International School of Abuja has paid $760,910.84 to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from the $845,852 school fees allegedly deposited by former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello in respect of five of his children in the school.

 

8. Bandits have attacked the palace of the Emir of Zurmi, Alhaji Bello Muhammad Bunu, killing three people and abducting some residents of the town. The bandits, who stormed the town around 10pm on Wednesday, according to locals, also attacked the residence of the former Military Administrator of Nasarawa State, Colonel Bala Muhammad Mande (rtd).

 

9. The Nigeria Correctional Service has stepped up efforts to track down and recapture escaped inmates of the Suleja Medium Security Custodial Centre, Niger State. The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Thursday, said the government would relocate a lot of correctional centres to create better infrastructure and security.

 

10. Men of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, assigned to tackle currency mutilation, dollarisation of the economy, and forex malpractice, have arrested 34 suspected currency speculators accused of foreign exchange fraud. This was made known in a statement shared on the commission’s website on Friday.

READ  Gabon Coup: Why we removed President Ali Bongo – Gabonese army

Continue Reading

News

UPDATED: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

on

By

 

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

 

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

 

Ngelale said Tinubu believes that Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience to ensure that no Nigerian student suffers a paucity of funds in the quest for tertiary education.

 

On April 3, Tinubu signed the student loans amendment bill into law to provide Nigerians with quality and accessible education.

 

The law will allow Nigerian students in tertiary institutions to access low-interest loans for tuition and other academic needs.

 

Subsequently, the president appointed Akintunde Sawyerr as the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of the fund.

 

Tinubu also appointed Frederick Oluwafemi Akinfala as the executive director of finance and administration, while Mustapha Iyal will serve as the executive director of operations of NELFUND.

READ  HELL ON EARTH: Six dead as South Africa deploys soldiers to quells pro-Zuma protests

 

 

Continue Reading

News

JUST IN: Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as chairman of education loan fund

Published

on

By

 

President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Ovia as the chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).

 

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointment of Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank, in a statement on Friday.

More to follow…

 

READ  #EndSARS riots: Insurers pay N4billion to claimants
Continue Reading

Trending News