South Africa unrest death toll rises to 32

A further 22 people have died during unrest raging in South Africa, a provincial official said on Tuesday, taking the national death toll from days of violence to 32.

The toll in KwaZulu-Natal province now stands at 26, premier Sihle Zikalala told a news conference on Tuesday, a day after officials confirmed six deaths in Gauteng province.

“These were people killed during stampedes as protesters ran riot,” he said, without specifying which parts of the province.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday deployed troops to help police halt the violence and looting sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma.

Southeastern KwaZulu-Natal — Zuma’s home region — is the epicentre of the unrest.

Protests erupted last week shortly after Zuma started serving a 15-month term for snubbing a probe into the corruption that stained his nine years in power.

The violence has so far been confined to the two most populous provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which houses the economic hub of Johannesburg.