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Amnesty International SA calls for calm, condemns riots

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  • Riots again erupted in Johannesburg on Sunday.
  • A security guard died due in the unrest. 
  • Amnesty International South Africa has called on the police to restrain from using non-lethal weapons to control the situation. 

Amnesty International SA (AISA) has condemned the looting and lawlessness amid riots in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. 

By Sunday morning, riots, which were sparked by the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, had spread to the Johannesburg CBD.

The riots have seen roads being closed after they were blocked with burning tyres and rocks. 

Shops have been looted and cars torched in various parts of the two provinces. 

News24 reported earlier that Johannesburg CBD's M2 East and M2 West in Denver were not accessible to motorists following riots there. 

According to Johannesburg Metro Police Department spokesperson Wayne Minnaar, shops were looted in Jeppestown and several vehicles torched. 

Alexandra was also affected. 

AISA executive director Shenilla Mohamed has called for calm and restraint. 

Mohamed said looting and lawlessness went against the right to protest and urged those behind them to be arrested.  

"While the Bill of Rights in the Constitution guarantees everyone's right to protest, this has to be done peacefully. We are also calling for restraint by police in the use of non-lethal weapons to get these demonstrations under control."  

AISA said it was also concerned about reports of a person being shot and killed in Gauteng. 

It urged the police to investigate whether the shooting was linked to the rioters and bring the perpetrators to book. 

security guard was shot and killed during the riots that broke out in the Johannesburg CBD. 

News24 reported the guard, Sphela Ndawonde, 24, was in Hanau Street in Jeppestown and on his way home after working the nightshift. 

According to his brother, Mhonipheni Ndawonde, he was informed that Sphela had been killed in the middle of a skirmish between looters and the police. 

It is believed a mob had forced its way into a liquor store and Public Order Police were called in to disperse them.  

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