South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appealed for calm in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province amid ongoing violent protests which have seen the burning of several trucks and arrest of 27 people after former president Jacob Zuma was imprisoned for contempt of court.
Ramaphosa said in a statement on Saturday that communities in KwaZulu-Natal “must stop from undermining the rule of law in the country.”
Zuma’s supporters were, however, adamant that he was treated unfairly by the justice system, vowing to continue protesting until he was released from prison.
Some 27 people have been arrested during the protests, according to the police.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said there was no need to deploy the army to KwaZulu-Natal to quell the violence “because there is no war in the province.”
She said her ministry would only intervene when other law enforcement agencies had failed to cope with the situation.
“South African National Defence Force has not been deployed to KZN. That is not the responsibility of the SANDF,” Mapisa-Nqakula said.
She added: “I don’t think we have reached a point where SANDF should be dragged into what is happening in KwaZulu-Natal.”
NM/jn/APA