The thousands of South Africans stealing from businesses run and staffed by their countrymen are following the example set by the ruling African National Congress under Jacob Zuma
SHOPPING CENTRES should be a symbol of South Africa’s progress. Their core customers, as well as their staff, are the black middle class that has grown since apartheid. Over the past few days, however, looters have overrun malls in cities such as Pretoria, Durban and Johannesburg. Thousands of criminals have ransacked shops, dragging with them empty suitcases to fill with booty. Arsonists have burnt trucks along a major motorway.
Zuma supporters, including family members, then spread misinformation about the basis for his arrest and encouraged unrest. His foundation called the anarchy the “reactive righteous anger of the people...which others have characterised as violence”, in response to the “violent provocation” of his sentencing.
Given the behaviour of Mr Zuma’s acolytes, some want to forgive the looters as puppets in a grim political show. The plight of ordinary people makes that doubly tempting. The official unemployment rate is the highest in the world, according to the World Bank. Gaping inequality means a minority enjoys a rich-world standard of living, while most people struggle to get by. Parts of the country regularly go without power and water. The police are a blend of incompetence and cruelty.
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