Shocking images of smashed windows, destroyed metal security doors and stores stripped of anything worth stealing have gripped South Africa. Uniformed police officers have stood by as looters made off with boxes of stolen goods, and small store owners were left picking through the wreckage of their businesses. Videos of people showing off looted items have streamed alongside shots of the army patrolling the streets.

Numbers give only an indicator of the damage to South Africa over the last few days. Over 70 dead, more than 1,200 arrested for looting and at least 200 shopping malls across the Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces ransacked. Those provinces include the major cities of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Durban.

The full economic cost of the unrest is yet to be counted, but eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda in KwaZulu-Natal told reporters more than 15 billion rand (about $1 billion/€875 million) worth of property and equipment had been damaged, affecting 40,000 businesses. COVID-19 vaccine centers were forced to close in affected areas, and clinics and pharmacies were not spared in the looting either.

Zuma jailing the trigger?

Looting started not even 48 hours after former President Jacob Zuma began his 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court, after failing to appear before the Zondo Commission, a major inquiry into corruption or "state capture."

South Africa has used the term to describe how Zuma's administration allowed cronies and allies to use state resources to enrich themselves. Despite the allegations of corruption and mismanagement, Zuma retains sizable support in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Many have pointed to Zuma's incarceration as the spark for the violence.

"The truth is, if they were to release Zuma, I think we would be free. As things stand, we are going to keep protesting. We are not happy but we have to because of the situation and we are hungry. But if they release him today maybe things will get back to normal," Zuma supporter Masandi Nzuza told reporters in a street littered with looted items on Sunday.

But the show of anger after Zuma's imprisonment morphed into looting and violence not seen "since the end of apartheid" in the 1990s, said current President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Political analyst Ralph Mathekga has characterized the events of the last few days as overwhelming "disenchantment." Factors such as the COVID pandemic lockdowns causing an economic downturn and staggering unemployment among young people have played a part. But for him, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is at the center.

"The ANC has a legitimacy crisis. ANC leaders are very weak and this thing triggered within the ANC. It has lost credibility to an extent where I think it's just incapable of persuading people to stop wrongdoing," Mathekga told DW.

ANC sending mixed message

Meanwhile, it's ordinary citizens like Thandie Johnson who are left to pick up the pieces. The stock at her party supplies store in Soweto has been trashed, she has overheads and bank loans to pay and wonders how she can carry on.

"President Cyril Ramaphosa is way too slow to act. This is not a time to process, this is the time to act. You cannot say 'we don't condone, we condemn,' and you stop there," she told reporters, in tears.

It took Ramaphosa until Monday to address to the rampant looting. Analysts have pointed out that the president has refrained from directly calling out Zuma, opting instead for state and court processes to run their course, which resulted in South Africa's top Constitutional Court sentencing Zuma to jail time.

But this approach is a double-edged sword, according to Mathekga: Zuma's clout within the governing ANC has stopped the government from moving on.

"The ANC party never took a firm position of directly dealing with Zuma. Why? Because it was politically difficult to do that. You could not call out Zuma," he said.

Zuma has denied any wrongdoing, and attacked the judiciary for executing a "politically motivated" case against him. 

"After the crisis started, you hear the ANC wishing him well for his appeal, even though he was in defiance of the court. Zuma is using the state courts to get out of his jail, while his allies are burning down the country. He's having his cake and eating it," Mathekga said.

'Opportunistic acts of criminality'

Authorities have blamed the widespread looting on organized crime. Ramaphosa has lashed out at "opportunistic acts of criminality, with groups of people instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft." The army would be deployed in to assist police in protect malls and shopping districts, he told the nation.

"No amount of unhappiness or personal circumstances from our people gives the right to anyone to loot, vandalize and do as they please and break the law," said Police Minister Bheki Cele.

Mathekga said that blaming the unrest on criminals is "disingenuous" and "sanitizes" the issue. "The ANC has made their own problems a national crisis," he told DW.

Small businesses suffering

Regional leaders have warned of potential food and fuel shortages, particularly in the port of Durban in eThekwini, as bulk transport across eastern South Africa has ceased and farmers have had to destroy perishable produce.

There have been signs of de-escalation in the unrest and looting. Communities have begun defending shopping malls against looters, and the influential national taxi council has also vowed to defend shopping districts. 

But for thousands of store managers and employees, it's too late.

"It's heartbreaking to see what you've built up and what's gone. We spend all our lives doing something for the community here, and this is what we get in return — looting. When is it ever going to come to an end?" said Mike de Freitas, a store manager in Vosloorus, near Johannesburg.

In Soweto, a man who gave his name simply as Jerry stood outside the smashed remains of the store in the Diepkloof Mall where he worked. "I feel bad because I lose the job. I've got children. They need maintenance, and this shop was taking most of the people of Diepkloof. They were working here," he said.