South African Government has sought the deployment of 25,000 troops to curb violence which has been rocking the nation since former President Jacob Zuma started his 15-month jail term.
Gatekeepers News report that Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Wednesday informed the parliament that she has “submitted a request for deployment of plus-minus 25,000” soldiers.
She said President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved the deployment of the army but did not state if they would be on the streets.
About seventy-two people have died and over 1,700 persons have been arrested since the riot which has affected farming, manufacturing and oil refining, raising fears of food and fuel shortage amid lootings.
According to the South African Government, 208 incidents of looting and vandalism were recorded on Wednesday.
President Ramaphosa met leaders of political parties and warned that parts of the country “may soon be running short of basic provisions following the extensive disruption of food, fuel and medicine supply chains”.
Ramaphosa had initially deployed 2,500 troops at the start of the week to help the overwhelmed police force, before plans quickly changed to scale up the numbers to 25,000.
Gatekeepers News gathered that locals have started forming vigilante groups to protect infrastructure in their neighbourhoods.
The new king of the Zulu community, Misuzulu Zulu, said violence had brought “great shame” on his people.
“This chaos is destroying the economy, and it is the poor who will suffer the most.
“This is unprecedented economic damage that is taking place,” Mohale stated.
