The FT's Joseph Cotterill On The Violence In South Africa

 South Africa is violent on a good day, much less when the political passions are aroused. It usually ranks in the top 10 highest homicide rates, trailing some Central American countries and quite a bit lower than some American cities e.g St. Louis at 87 homicides per 100,000 or Baltimore's 51 per 100,000, vs. SA's 36.4 per 100k population.

Here are Mr. Cotterill's last three reports for the paper:

July 13
South Africa struggles to contain worst unrest in decades
Domestic spy agency investigates whether former agents loyal to ex-president orchestrated turmoil
July 12
Unrest spreads in South Africa after Zuma is jailed
Army deployed on streets as tensions rise over 15-month prison term for former president
July 8
Shadow of jailed Zuma hangs over ‘dysfunctional’ ANC
Ramaphosa faces daunting task to clean up party riven by factions and cronyism

And a couple of his recent tweets:

I’m now at Maponya Mall in Soweto, which by contrast is locked down and secure with police, soldiers and private security on the scene. pic.twitter.com/ypO2maGLRM

— Joseph Cotterill (@jsphctrl) July 14, 2021