The sporadic violent protests, leading to massive looting, which started in KwaZulu-Natal this past weekend with Zuma’s supporters calling for his immediate release from prison (#FreeZumaNow), spread to many parts of Gauteng, causing chaos, with about 120 lives lost and more than R10 billion in damages to businesses.
The violent protest which clearly turned to thuggery, spread to shopping malls, business warehouses, ports and individual businesses. Many businesses throughout Gauteng that were not affected by the looting, including those in Laudium and Marabastad however, closed on Tuesday, (July 13) fearing an imminent attack by looting mobs. The same afternoon, an urgent meeting was called by councillor Essop and the Chair of the local business forum, Shaheen Osman, whereby local security companies and the local police were invited to discuss the fears and concerns of the businesses and residents. Police assured the meeting that there was no immediate threat to the community and that police had the necessary backups to quell any attempt of an attack by rouge elements wanting to loot in the name of Zuma.
Aftab Ahmed, the owner of the Pet Shop, in the Laudium CBD, told the Laudium Sun, “What we are seeing in parts of the country has always been expected, but it is still shocking and unjustifiable, I am crying for South Africa. It is not good, people have no knowledge that looting malls, and burning houses are harming them also. The government has to compensate for the businesses that were destroyed, through its insurance fund. This is like destroying your own house, then you are left with no place to sleep. This does not only affect business, it affects everyone, as food and goods can become scarce. Our business has also been affected as customers are now scared to come to Laudium. We closed early on Tuesday as there was a rumour going around that the mob was coming to Laudium to attack the shops here. Our staff were also scared to travel home late.”
Owner of Pionero Café in the Laudium CBD, Tafazzal Hossein said, “My business was very much affected this week. On Tuesday, just after preparing food for the day, we had to close early, because we were told the protesters were coming to Laudium. As a fast food shop, and having prepared food, we could not pack the food away for the next day, as we sell fresh food, so we had to get rid of all our food. Business this week has been bad because customers are scared to come out of their houses. We are living in fear all the time. When we look at the TV of what’s happening in Durban and other places, I just pray for all those people and hope these looters don’t come to our shops.”
Amanda Mthembu, supervisor at Super Bake, in the CBD, said, “It is very scary for us as workers and as a business, as we see that these protestors are targeting the business area. We have been affected, as we had close early on Tuesday and many of our customers are scared to come into the CBD. We have to keep most of our stock in fridges, so I just hope there isn’t an electricity problem with Eskom. As it is, business has gone down since Covid lockdown, now with this looting going on it could cripple the businesses. Let’s pray for the peace and stability of the country.”
Shaheen Osman, the Chairman of the Local Business Forum said, “The situation in Laudium is very peaceful for now, given the wide spread tension in the province and as close as Midrand. We however, have to take measures, and as a precaution, we asked the businesses to close as early as 4pm, wherever possible. The SAPS and the local security cluster have been keeping an eye in the area. We are monitoring the situation closely”. Councillor Essop told the Laudium Sun, “We were assured by the police on Tuesday, that there was no imminent threat of looting to the community or businesses. The police however assured us that they were monitoring the situation closely.”
