President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned looters to stop their behaviour or face the consequences of their actions. During his address to the nation on Monday night, Ramaphosa said: “President Ramaphosa: what we are witnessing now are opportunistic acts of criminality, using chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft. There is no grievance or political cause that could justify the violence.”
He warned that South Africans will soon be facing a huge risk of food security and medicine security in a matter of weeks.
“Our vaccination programme has been severely disrupted just as it is gaining momentum. This will have lasting effects on our ability to consolidate some of the progress we were already witnessing in our economic recovery,” he said.
The presidency cannot risk this, especially in this delicate time – when businesses and the health of the country is at risk. Ramaphosa took a strong stand and said he is mobilising police and the SANDF to do everything possible to calm the situation.
“We are therefore mobilising all available resources and capabilities to restore order. As the Commander-in-Chief of the South African Defence Force, I have today authorised the deployment of Defence Force personnel in support of the operations of the South African Police Service,” he said.
Police are putting measures in place to call up operational members from leave and rest-days to increase the presence of law enforcement personnel on the ground.
Ramaphosa: “Let me be clear: we will take action to protect every person in this country against the threat of violence, intimidation, theft and looting. We will not hesitate to arrest and prosecute those who perpetrate these actions and will ensure that they face the full might of our law.”
The president reminded the country how hard it was to fight for the freedom of the country – at a different time in South Africa’s history. And asked that “we come together again, for each of us to play our part in restoring calm to those areas that have been affected by violence; for each of us to stand up for the rule of law and for the peaceful resolution of conflict”.
He concluded by asking South Africans to stand together to restore peace to our country.
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