Taking action: Residents in Glenwood, Durban barricaded their street in an attempt to keep looters away. (Rogan Ward)
An impromptu checkpoint narrows traffic outside the Anglican Church in Musgrave Road in Durban around 10am on Wednesday.
The group of men armed with a variety of weapons from hockey sticks to pistols who are manning the checkpoint scrutinise the occupants of vehicles passing through the space between the barrels and planks closing two of the three lanes before waving them through or pulling them over.
Two of the men are wearing jackets with security company logos. The others are civilians.
It’s been two days since the Musgrave shopping mall was looted in the first wave of attacks on the suburbs around the Durban central business district, but residents are still in a state of high alert.
Many of the shops along the streetfront, including a bakery, survived the initial attack on Monday. The checkpoint was set up immediately afterwards by residents and security companies and has been a 24 hour a day feature since then.
One of the residents, who asked not to be named, said he had started manning the roadblock on Tuesday morning along with other people from the area.
While some residents stood four-hour shifts at the roadblock, others provided food and refreshments for those on duty.
“We don’t know if there will be another attack here. It’s better that we are ready in case there is more looting,” he said. “There aren’t enough security or police to cover this area day and night so we have to help out.”
“None of us want this,”’ he said.
Three blocks away, in Peter Mokaba Ridge, at least 200 cars were lined up for petrol at the service station, one of a few in the city which are still operational.
Petrol was being rationed to R100 worth of fuel per car, with only police, security officials or medical and emergency personnel being allowed to buy by the security guards screening motorists.
Further up the road, residents had cordoned off South Road.
One of the four men manning the roadblock at the entrance of the road, who wanted to be known only as Aslam, said he and other residents had been on rotating guard duty since Monday afternoon.
“We are only allowing residents into the road. We’re in contact with the security companies that work in this area and if we see anything suspicious we call them to back us.”
Since the weekend, communities around Durban have armed themselves in the face of the looting and staged patrols or roadblocks to prevent further attacks.
By Wednesday night clashes between residents and looters were believed to have claimed 15 lives in Phoenix alone, where racial tensions are rising.
KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala said that he had received reports of racial tensions in Phoenix, Chatsworth, Ballito and Hillcrest, where residents at roadblocks had allegedly been refusing black people access to buy food and fuel.
Zikalala said eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda had held discussions with residents of Phoenix and Hillcrest on Wednesday over the tensions, while additional police and army units would be deployed in Phoenix.
The government would also meet with security company chief executives to discuss how to manage the tensions.
“We call on all communities to work together across racial lines to isolate the looters so that they can be prosecuted. Nobody must be denied to an area where they reside,” Zikalala said.
Richmond: ‘The entire CBD is gone’
The province’s small towns have not been spared from the fury of the looting.
The KwaZulu-Natal capital, Pietermaritzburg, has also been devastated by looting, as have small towns within the Umgungundlovu district municipality, including Richmond.
Several Richmond residents told the Mail & Guardian that the town’s central business district had been torched by looters after they had cleaned out stores and garages.
“Richmond is a burned town,” said former mayor Andrew Ragavaloo. “Everything has been burned to the ground. The entire CBD is gone: the Spar, the chemist. There’s nowhere in the town left to buy food or petrol.”
Zikalala said the situation in Richmond had been reported to the provincial government.
“We are dealing with it,” Zikalala said. “Food supply is going to be a problem, not just in Richmond but throughout KwaZulu-Natal and particularly in eThekwini.”
“Food supply, medicine and petrol are going to be a problem. We are developing a plan as to how those are going to be secured. That is the priority for now going forward.”
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