At least three people have been killed in politically-motivated looting and rioting in Pretoria townships
Deadly riots have rocked the South African capital of Pretoria ahead of local elections, with at least three people shot dead and scores more injured,
"South Africa is not a country unused to violence. In fact, we are mostly inured to it," Judith February writes in the Daily Maverick. "Yet, as news of burning buses and looting trickled in, this somehow felt different. Our fragile post-1994 peace seems to be faltering badly on the eve of a highly contested election."
What's been happening?
Protesters, some of them allied to the ruling African National Congress (ANC), looted shops and set buses and lorries on fire. Police struggled to contain the violence and it quickly erupted across several townships. There are fears the unrest could spread to the nearby business hub of Johannesburg.
Foreign shop-owners were targeted in the attacks, as they were during xenophobic riots last year. Attackers typically blame other African migrants for high levels of unemployment and crime.
However, this week's violence erupted in direct response to the ANC's mayoral selection for Tshwane, the district that includes Pretoria, which overruled the choice of regional branches. Thoko Didiza, a Zulu from the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa, was always going to be a controversial choice to stand in the August municipal elections.
"Residents say that they want someone from Pretoria to represent them and not an outsider," The Times reports.
Is this a symptom of something wider?
The conflict has not been confined to the streets of South Africa; there have been a number of violent clashes in parliament during the last few months.
President Jacob Zuma has failed to heal deep divisions in the ruling party and the upcoming election is widely seen as a referendum on his leadership, which had long been dogged by controversy.
"What we know is that this conflict did not happen overnight," says the Maverick's February. "It's a toxic mix of a political party that has lost its moorings against the backdrop of corruption and patronage and easily combustible communities, some of which have over 50 per cent unemployment rates."
Deadly riots have rocked the South African capital of Pretoria ahead of local elections, with at least three people shot dead and scores more injured,
"South Africa is not a country unused to violence. In fact, we are mostly inured to it," Judith February writes in the Daily Maverick. "Yet, as news of burning buses and looting trickled in, this somehow felt different. Our fragile post-1994 peace seems to be faltering badly on the eve of a highly contested election."
What's been happening?
Protesters, some of them allied to the ruling African National Congress (ANC), looted shops and set buses and lorries on fire. Police struggled to contain the violence and it quickly erupted across several townships. There are fears the unrest could spread to the nearby business hub of Johannesburg.
Foreign shop-owners were targeted in the attacks, as they were during xenophobic riots last year. Attackers typically blame other African migrants for high levels of unemployment and crime.
However, this week's violence erupted in direct response to the ANC's mayoral selection for Tshwane, the district that includes Pretoria, which overruled the choice of regional branches. Thoko Didiza, a Zulu from the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa, was always going to be a controversial choice to stand in the August municipal elections.
"Residents say that they want someone from Pretoria to represent them and not an outsider," The Times reports.
Is this a symptom of something wider?
The conflict has not been confined to the streets of South Africa; there have been a number of violent clashes in parliament during the last few months.
President Jacob Zuma has failed to heal deep divisions in the ruling party and the upcoming election is widely seen as a referendum on his leadership, which had long been dogged by controversy.
"What we know is that this conflict did not happen overnight," says the Maverick's February. "It's a toxic mix of a political party that has lost its moorings against the backdrop of corruption and patronage and easily combustible communities, some of which have over 50 per cent unemployment rates."
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