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Saturday, June 25, 2016

Riots in Pretoria

The protests began in anger at the governing African National Congress's choice of a mayoral candidate for Tshwane, the metropolitan area which includes Pretoria. - EYEWITNESS NEWS
Notice that the three buses in the center of the picture are what's left after they were burned. 20 buses in all got torched.
 
Marcel doesn't know what to say and neither do I, but I did find some entertaining quotes. Excerpts from a story on DW, whoever they are.

"It's a societal problem within the ANC itself. It is exacerbated by a ten-year long factionalism that has been taking root. We have this new political culture where violence has become a lingua franca of political communication." -  Samadoda Fikeni, a political analyst based at the University of South Africa in Pretoria
Fikeni however said that most of the protestors were supporters of ANC members who were hoping to secure a nomination for the candidacy of mayor but failed to get the ANC's endorsement. Critics say the candidate that did get the nomination did not know local affairs because she comes from another province.
. . .
The ANC said that the riots are the work of outsiders who have infiltrated the party for their own selfish interests.
"We have names and pictures of people who are ANC leaders who planned this disruption," - Gwede Mantahse, the secretary general of the ANC
. . . 
Political violence in South Africa has been on the increase since 2010, according to a recent study by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) at the University of Pretoria. The ISS blames the lack of accountability by the political leadership for this development.
"The fish rots from the head and what we have in South Africa is a lack of consequences . . .  If the leadership is unaccountable and you can get away with violence and breaking things, then why not do so at local government level?" - Dr Jakkie Cilliers, the director of ISS.

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