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I condemn in the strongest terms the violence, looting and destruction that have engulfed parts of Durban and Soweto the past few days. South Africans have watched in disbelief as vehicles were torched, shops were looted and livelihoods were destroyed, while police officers stood by and failed to intervene.

This is an unacceptable failure of basic law enforcement, for which Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia must take political responsibility.

I call on Minister Cachalia to immediately ensure the deployment of sufficient public-order policing reinforcements to restore order, protect businesses and communities, and arrest those responsible.

This is a failure of policing. Whatever grievances people may have, nobody has the right to burn vehicles, loot shops or terrorise communities.

Five years after the devastating riots of July 2021, when hundreds of South Africans lost their lives, it appears that the most basic lessons have still not been learnt. Once again, the police response has been too slow, and ordinary South Africans are paying the price.

Under a DA-led national government, public violence would be met with a swift, coordinated and lawful police response. We would rebuild public-order policing capacity, ensure proper intelligence-led deployments, hold commanders accountable for their performance, and restore a culture of professional, decisive policing.

We would protect every South African family, every business owner and every law-abiding person, regardless of where they come from. The state must stand firmly on the side of those who obey the law, not abandon them to those who break it.

The DA will build a country where families feel safe, businesses can thrive and the law protects everyone. That begins with a government willing and able to perform its most fundamental duty: keeping its people safe.

Issued by Geordin Hill-Lewis, Leader of the Democratic Alliance