Anger, Anarchy, The Despair Of Business And A People United In Hope

A Fierce Third Wave Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Notwithstanding, The Week That Violent Riots Tore Through The Heart And Soul Of South Africa, Driving The Economy Into Confusion And Chaos, The Week Ubuntu Also Took Over As Ordinary Citizens Rose Together To Pick Up The Pieces Of Their Shattered Present. Forbes Africa Was On The Ground Covering It All As It Happened.

- Yeshiel Panchia And Chanel Retief

AT A TIME WHEN SOUTH AFRICA WAS already garnering global headlines for its heaving Covid-19 caseload, the country was hit by yet another deadly surge, a fierce wave of violent protests, looting and lawlessness that saw it spiraling out of control into history textbooks as the most devastating chapter since the country’s birth as a democracy in 1994.

The unrest and anarchy that left over 200 dead and many more beaten and broken, and properties razed to the ground, added to the woes of a crippling economy with many small businesses in tatters. Experts believe that the protests, sparked by the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma, have dealt body blows to business and livelihoods that could take years to recover from.

Luyanda Jafta, the CEO and Co-Founder of The People’s Fund, a crowdfunding platform for small black-owned businesses, tells FORBES AFRICA that this was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.

“We are staring down the barrel of the demise of the structure of South African society,” Jafta says. “South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world and our transformation objectives have failed.”

The unrest was stoked by multiple factors: Zuma loyalists who want the former president released from prison; “opportunistic criminals” as President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his nationwide address; and crucially, also the poor and desperate grabbing the opportunity to loot and put food on the table.

After the outbreak, Zuma virtually appeared in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on July 19 to face 16 charges of fraud, corruption, and racketeering related to the 1999 purchase of fighter jets, patrol boats, and military gear from five European arms firms when he was deputy president.