By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
Defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has requested the deployment of an additional 25,000 defense personnel to restore order in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng amid ongoing violence, looting, and the destruction of property in those provinces following the arrest of the former president, Jacob Zuma.
The minister told parliament on Wednesday that she is seeking approval from the National Security Council and president Cyril Ramaphosa.
In a virtual address to Parliament’s defence committee, Mapisa-Nqakula said that the president was not satisfied with the initial deployment of 2,500 soldiers.
A proposal for 10,000 soldiers was made during an earlier meeting between the president and party leaders represented in the National Assembly, it said.
A further deployment of members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to areas affected by the ongoing violent attacks in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal was being considered, president Ramaphosa told political party leaders.
Parties represented at the meeting included the African National Congress, Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, United Democratic Movement, Freedom Front Plus, Congress of the People, African Christian Democratic Party, the Good Party, Al-Jamah, the African Transformation Movement, National Freedom Party and the Pan Africanist Congress.
During the meeting, the president said the government is intensifying its efforts and working in partnership with civil society in an effort to stem public violence affecting various parts of the country.
Political leaders called for greater coordination among the police, the national defence force, intelligence agencies, private security services and community-based safety structures.
The riots appeared to be easing following the initial deployment of additional soldiers to help the police restore stability, citing the government.
“We are seeing less incidence of violence and looting reported,” acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters in Pretoria, the capital, on Wednesday. “Currently 5,000 members of the South African National Defence Force are deployed on the ground” and more than 1,700 people have been arrested, she said.
Protests erupted on 10 July after Zuma was incarcerated for defying a court order to testify before a graft inquiry. At least 72 people have been killed, making the uprising the deadliest since apartheid ended in 1994.