The violence and looting that left at least 117 [8] people dead in South Africa may have diminished after thousands of troops [9] were deployed onto the streets of the main hotspot provinces. But the unrest was the worst seen since the end of apartheid, and has disrupted a stuttering vaccination program [10] amid a Delta-driven COVID-19 third wave that is straining health services. Protests erupted after the July 7 imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, who had refused to appear before a corruption inquiry into the "state capture [11]" allegations that blighted his rule. However, the unrest reflects broader frustrations [12], as pandemic restrictions result in job losses and deepen poverty in one of the world's most unequal countries. As one bystander in Johannesburg told [13] a television crew: "The matter is not about Zuma. People are hungry."
From The New Humanitarian [14], July 16
