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The Star: Cops warn of more arrests after shops looted

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http://www.sundaytribune.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20090725062037924C708152

Cops warn of more arrests after shops looted
25 July 2009, 15:52

By Fiona Gounden

The leader of hundreds of people responsible for looting shops in Durban this week should not think “she has got away with it”, warned police, saying they are still conducting intense investigations to charge the rest of the group.

However, the members of the South African Unemployed Peoples’ Movement (SAUPM), which is based in Durban, claim they are not “afraid of police”, and one person who was involved in the looting of shops has opened a case of assault against a police officer.

SAUPM leader Nozipho Mteshane yesterday warned that their “demonstrations are far from over”, and intense meetings were under way to “discuss their next plan of action in the city”.

The looters invaded supermarkets in Durban’s city centre on Wednesday, stealing and eating food from the stores.

About 100 members were arrested after branches of Shoprite and Pick n Pay were looted during a protest march in support of grants of R1 500 for the unemployed.

However, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize said such grants were unaffordable and distributing it to people would bankrupt the government.

Onlookers at the Shoprite store on Dr Pixley KaSeme (West) Street said members of the group ate chips, roasted chicken and other goods inside the store and loaded trolleys to take with them.

At the same time, another group raided the Pick n Pay store in the Workshop shopping centre.

A total of 90 of the arrested looters appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on theft charges on Thursday. They were released on warning and told to appear in court again on August 28.

Yesterday, SAPS spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said there were many more guilty parties out there besides the ones already arrested.

“Our investigations are still under way and we will be finding many other offenders who will be identified by questioning witnesses as well as by CCTV footage.”

* This article was originally published on page 5 of The Star on July 25, 2009

SAPA: Journos barred from looting case

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http://www.sundaytribune.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=&fArticleId=nw20090723144506749C435965

Journos barred from looting case
23 July 2009, 14:53

Reporters were on Thursday barred from attending the case of 90 people arrested for looting shops in Durban.

The first appearance of SA Unemployed People’s Movement members was held in the basement of the Durban Magistrate’s Court. The case was initially going to be held in Court 10, but the venue was changed and journalists were not informed.

After spending more than four hours waiting, reporters went to control prosecutor Nhlanhla Mkhize to demand permission to attend the proceedings in the basement.

“We cannot allow you to go down there because it is not allowed. We decided to do it there because we could not bring all of them to the normal court room. We did it for security reasons.”

Journalists would be allowed to see the charge sheet later on Thursday, he said.

The movement’s spokeswoman Nozipho Mteshane said members of her organisation would ask for free bail and deny the charge of theft, stemming from Wednesday’s spree that took in Shoprite Checkers and Pick n Pay outlets.

“We were not stealing. We were just demonstrating. Taking food from the shops was a way of showing government that unemployed people are hungry. We stormed shops after other attempts of appealing for assistance failed.”

She said they had written many letters to the government and also submitted memorandums asking for basic income grants for unemployed people. Mteshane claimed her organisation represented “millions” of unemployed South Africans. She vowed to continue organising similar protests, saying the state would not afford to keep all members of her organisation in jails.

“We will make sure that the soccer world cup is spoiled if our demands are not met.”

Ethekwini municipality mayor Obed Mlaba and ANC secretary in KwaZulu-Natal Sihle Zikalala condemned the looting.

“Notwithstanding the constitutional right of people to strike and the plight faced by the unemployed, the looting of shops cannot be justified. We are disturbed by the movement’s criminal activity. These are purely criminal deeds and they can never be tolerated,” Mlaba said.

The municipality confirmed it received the memorandum from the SA Unemployed People’s Movement a few weeks ago and forwarded it to the departments which dealt with grants.

“While concerns relating to unemployment may be genuine, we believe that yesterday’s rampage accompanied by the looting was smacked with opportunism (sic), where criminals used the protest to satisfy their own selfish needs,” Zikalala said.

He appealed to organisations to use the appropriate channels to voice their dissatisfaction. – Sapa