Protesters armed with clubs marched in Johannesburg, condemning the imprisonment of the former president of South Africa, the looting of shops and the blockade of roads.

After former President Jacob Zuma was imprisoned, violent riots broke out in two provinces of South Africa, with supporters blocking roads and looting shops.

South African police said on Sunday that at least 62 people had been arrested.

Zuma Start service He was sentenced to 15 months for contempt of court last week. The 79-year-old former president was jailed for ignoring a court order to testify before a state-backed investigation that investigated allegations of corruption during his tenure as president from 2009 to 2018.

His application for release from Estcourt Correctional Center is Refused Hearing by the District Court on Friday. He will try again with the Constitutional Court of the country’s Supreme Court on Monday.

Riots of Zuma supporters it has started He was in his hometown of KwaZulu-Natal last week and spread to Gauteng over the weekend, including Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city.

After the former South African President Jacob Zuma was imprisoned, the violence escalated and the police detained a protester [Sumaya Hisham/Reuters]

According to a statement by police major general Matapello Peters, hundreds of people robbed and burned shops in the Alexandra and Bramley neighborhoods of Johannesburg.

He said that the body of a 40-year-old man was found in a burnt shop, and the police are investigating the specific situation.

In addition, according to the statement, at least three police officers were injured while trying to arrest the robbers and one was taken to the hospital.

Agence France-Presse said that the N3 highway connecting Johannesburg and Durban, the coastal city of KwaZulu-Natal, was blocked for several hours, including a section south of Estcot prison where Zuma was held.

In a speech on COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated his call for calmness, urging people to express their opinions “in peaceful protest” and avoid life-threatening and economic damage. behavior.

“People are intimidated and threatened, and some people are even hurt,” Ramaphosa said, adding that “some people may be dead.”

However, the robbery in the surrounding area of ??Durban continued until Sunday night.

The police said they are improving the capacity of the two provinces and warned Zuma supporters not to incite violence on social media, saying they may face criminal charges.

The regional association stated that shops in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng will continue to be closed on Monday to avoid robbery.