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- Police Minister Bheki Cele says they have a list of 12 instigators of the recent unrest.
- He did not say who was on the list.
- Some taking part in the looting did not even know who former president Jacob Zuma was, he said.
Police Minister Bheki Cele says that they have a list of 12 instigators of the current unrest and looting in South Africa.
When probed by the media on whether this list included members of former president Jacob Zuma’s family, he skirted the question and said that they had a list of "12 South Africans" who have been inciting violence.
Cele was speaking to the media after he toured a shopping district in Alexandra, which was completely ransacked in the ongoing unrest.
The Pan Africa Mall was completely destroyed, with little to nothing for the residents to salvage later on Tuesday afternoon.
WATCH | Alexandra's Pan African Mall, opened by Zuma in 2009, trashed by looters
Parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng have been rocked by unrest. News24 earlier reported that violence broke out on Friday, incited by calls to free Zuma from prison, but has since descended into mass violence and looting.
Cele said there were people who did not even know Zuma, but had joined in on the unrest.
"They were asked in one hostel in KZN, why are you doing this. They said they are hungry and they do not have jobs," he said.
Army makes its way to disperse a looters at Supa Store in Dlamini, Soweto. #ZumaUnrest (@Sesona_Ngqaks) pic.twitter.com/xlRYe5tpJh
— Team News24 (@TeamNews24) July 13, 2021
"There is this genuine anger, and people who say they would love to see JZ come out of incarceration, but there are [also] many people who do not even know what the situation is about, they have just gotten on the bandwagon and caused this destruction," Cele added.
READ | #ZumaUnrest: Some Gauteng vaccination sites closed amid violence and looting
SANDF personnel arrived in the area on Tuesday afternoon and have been monitoring the situation, together with police.
