- A woman was killed in Lamontville on Thursday.
- Police were in the area to retrieve items looted during the recent wave of unrest.
- Experts say police need to stop policing the poor the way they do.
The SA Police Service (SAPS) needs to prioritise ring leaders and the root cause of the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, and not barge into people's shacks to retrieve looted items.
This is according to experts on News24's Frontline panel, hosted by editor-in-chief Adriaan Basson on Thursday afternoon.
The panelists were Tshwane University of Technology's Professor Jacob Mofokeng, the Institute for Security Studies' Dr Jakkie Cilliers, the University of the Western Cape's Dr Jean Redpath, and Stellenbosch University's Dr Guy Lamb.
As the discussion was underway, reports came in that there was a stand-off between police and residents of an informal settlement in Lamontville, south of Durban.
A woman was shot dead during an alleged exchange of fire between police and gunmen, News24 reported.
It's understood police officers descended on the area to search for goods looted during the unrest.
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, in another incident, police clashed with a group near the Umsunduzi police station in Cato Ridge, west of Durban.
Police sources, with knowledge of the incident, who spoke to News24 on condition of anonymity, said another operation to recover looted goods went awry when the community fought back.
In the fray, roads were blocked to prevent police from leaving, and two officers were injured in the battle. A woman, a civilian, was purportedly wounded.
The group then massed at the entrance of the police station and were later dispersed by the army.
Police have, in the past two weeks, raided homes in a bid to recover looted items. People, who were unable to produce receipts of items found in their possession, were arrested and the items taken.
But Redpath said this was not the way out of the conundrum facing the country following the violence.
She said inclusive growth was the way forward.
"And, in the interim, we need the rule of law and we need law and order to the extent that we can. It doesn't help if police are, without a warrant, barging into people's shacks, and not following the rule of law.
"They become part of the problem. That's not following the rule of law. And, also, in a country with limited resources, we would hope that the police would prioritise the ring leaders, the root cause, and not the poorest of the poor, who possibly didn't steal the flat screen TV, and happen to not have receipts for the bags of flour...," Redpath said.
She added that the actions after the unrest would cause further problems and disunity in the country.
Redpath said those behind the unrest needed to be prioritised.
She added that policing the poor, while the rich got away, was something happening across Africa.
"It is a deep problem... we need to have human rights respected and that is all possible with the right political will," she said.
Lamb said the police seemed to be following a motto of "stamp the authority of the state", demonstrating and using their power.
"But it kind of falls flat if you don't have the numbers. It leads to these kind of things of breaking down doors, human rights violations and people getting injured and killed.
"The poor have been policed in a similar way that black people were policed under apartheid, and there are many similarities there," he said.