Why South Africans are protesting the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma
On July 7, former South African president Jacob Zuma surrendered to police and was arrested. Local protests, centered on the Zuma family compound, have been ongoing since late June.
Since Zuma’s arrest last week and the high court’s denial of his appeal on Friday, protests have spread to major cities and townships in South Africa. Online hashtags call for #FreeJacobZuma, and in Durban, protesters threatened to shut down the KwaZulu-Natal province unless authorities released Zuma, South Africa’s first Zulu president.
Over the weekend, police arrested hundreds of people as the protests turned violent. By Tuesday, at least 45 people had died, many of them trampled as crowds began looting.… Seguir leyendo »