The insurrection in South Africa is about more than freeing Zuma

Unrest is not a spontaneous uprising of the poor, but a targeted campaign to get political concessions from government.

Over the last week, South Africa has been engulfed by the worst unrest and mass violence since the end of apartheid. Speaking to the country on Thursday evening, President Cyril Ramaphosa described the unrest as an insurrection targeting the country’s economy and infrastructure. The insurrection, triggered by ex-President Jacob Zuma’s imprisonment for contempt of court on July 7, has already seen at least 212 deaths, the supply chain of an entire province destroyed, billions of dollars worth of damage inflicted on two of the country’s major cities, and hundreds of businesses and key infrastructure burned to the ground. KwaZulu-Natal, home to some 12 million people, faces food and fuel shortages. In the absence of state authorities, numerous neighbourhoods formed armed militias to protect their businesses and communities. Ramaphosa has deployed 25,000 South African National Defence Force soldiers to the afflicted areas, the largest deployment of troops since the advent of democracy in 1994.