Protests which began over the jailing of former South African President Jacob Zuma have spiraled into general looting and rioting. 

Late last night and early this morning, unidentified people attacked at least four radio stations throughout the country, ransacking their offices and forcing them off the air.

The radio stations include:

• Alex FM, in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg

• Mams Radio, In Mamelodi, northeast of Pretoria

• West Side FM, in Kagiso, west of Johannesburg

• Intokozo FM, in Durban 

The suspected demonstrators and looters also robbed and assaulted journalists covering the unrest over the past 10 days.

Confirming the incident, Africa program coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists CPJ, Angela Quintal said: “The rioting and civil unrest in South Africa is the country’s biggest news story, and the media must be free to cover it without fear of assault so the public can remain informed at such a crucial time,” 

“Even while they are engaged in stopping rioting and looting, law enforcement agencies cannot turn a blind eye to how journalists are being attacked and threatened while doing their jobs, and must ensure that those who do so are held to account.”

What you should know

Zuma, 79, was sentenced late last month for defying a constitutional court order to give evidence at an inquiry investigating high-level corruption during his nine years in office until 2018.

The decision to jail him resulted from legal proceedings seen as a test of post-apartheid South Africa’s ability to enforce the rule of law, including against powerful politicians.

Pro-Zuma protesters first took to the streets after the 79-year-old handed himself to authorities on Wednesday to begin a 15-month sentence.

Zuma's foundation said there would be no peace in South Africa until the former president was released from jail.

"Peace and stability in South Africa is directly linked to the release of President Zuma with immediate effect," it said in a Tweet.

"The violence could have been avoided. It started with the decision of the constitutional court to detain president Zuma ... This is what gave anger to the people," a spokesman for the foundation, Mzwanele Manyi, told newsmen separately.

Fueled by poverty and unemployment

police now say criminals are taking advantage of the chaos, which spread from his home province of KwaZulu-Natal to Johannesburg, in Gauteng.

Growing joblessness has left people ever more desperate. Unemployment stood at a new record high of 32.6% in the first three months of 2021.

Health implications 

The country's health department said it had been forced to temporarily close some vaccination sites affected by the unrest, which had disrupted the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

Essential healthcare services like the collection of chronic medication by tuberculosis, HIV and diabetes patients were also affected by the violence.

An official, who declined to be named, said a government target to vaccinate 200,000 people on Monday fell short by 54,000 shots, mostly owing to disruption from the violence.