Looting of shops continues in South Africa

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - Looting of foreign-owned shops continued for the third day in Johannesburg.

Large crowds of rioters were seen ransacking shops and setting some on fire.

Police fired rubber bullets and stun grenades in many parts of the city where large groups of looters were stealing goods from shops.

Many migrants in the central business district and surrounding townships kept their businesses closed.

Violence began on Sunday evening in Jeppestown near Johannesburg where residents started looting foreign-owned shops after one of the buildings in the area caught fire.

By Monday morning, violence spread to other parts of Johannesburg and the capital city Pretoria, where large crowds broke into shops stealing goods ranging from groceries to electronic equipment.

There is high unemployment in South Africa where locals often accuse foreign nationals of taking up jobs meant for them. They also accuse foreign nationals for unfairly competing with them in running retail businesses, which they say foreigners should not own. Locals also accuse foreigners of crowding social services such as health facilities.

"I condemn the violence that has been spreading around a number of our provinces in the strongest terms. I’m convening the ministers in the security cluster today to make sure that we keep a close eye on these acts of wanton violence and find ways of stopping them,'' President Cyril Ramaphosa tweeted on Tuesday.

Motorists were also stoned by rioters in some parts of Johannesburg shattering their windscreens.

Police spokeswoman Mathapelo Peters said on Monday that at least 90 people had been arrested for the violence.

David Makhura, premier of Gauteng province where both Johannesburg and Pretoria are located, condemned the looting and attacks on foreign nationals saying there is no justification for any criminal activity.

Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Makhura said he would ask for the deployment of the army to help reinforce the police in quelling the situation should the need arise.

"We want to send a strong message out there that no body should take the law into their own hands. No acts of criminality will be tolerated,'' he said.

In recent months, South Africa has been hit by a wave of violence targeting foreign nationals and their businesses.

Last week, angry minibus taxi drivers looted foreign-owned shops and set others ablaze in South Africa’s capital Pretoria after a foreign national allegedly killed one of their colleagues the previous day.

Last month, mobs in South Africa also looted several foreign-owned shops on the outskirts of Johannesburg, accusing foreigners of not respecting local laws, police said at the time.