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KwaZulu-Natal Unrest
A screen capture shows residents of Pietermaritzburg awaiting news of the violence in their city. (Photo Courtesy of Wes Magruder)
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Another looting
A store owner surveys the damage caused by looters in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. (Photo Courtesy of Wes Magruder).
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Brookside Mall Burns
Brookside Mall in Pietermaritzburg, capital of KwaZulu-Natal state in South Africa, was set afire by rioters protesting the conviction and imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma on corruption charges. Seth Mokitimia Methodist Seminary in the city has closed in the wake of the unrest. (Photo Courtesy of Wes Magruder)
United Methodists are anxiously awaiting word on the status of their fellow church members in South Africa, where violent unrest has broken out following the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma on conviction of corruption charges.
Reuters News Service reported July 14: “More than 70 people have been killed in the unrest, the worst in South Africa for years, and hundreds of businesses wrecked. Food and fuel supplies are running short.” South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said he may order more troops into the streets in an attempt to quell the violence. Reuters reported that citizens are arming themselves as protection against roving gangs.
Emails to the South Africa Annual Conference and its episcopal leader, Mozambique-based Bishop Joaquina Nhanala, have gone unanswered as of July 14. However, at least one United Methodist reported that he and the seminary at which he teaches are “in the thick” of the unrest.
Courtesy Photo
Wes Magruder 2017
The Rev. Dr. Wes Magruder
The Rev. Wes Magruder, a General Board of Global Ministries missionary, told United Methodist Insight via email that he’s “in the thick of it” (violence and looting). Rev. Magruder teaches at Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary in Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu Natal, the South Africa state that is Mr. Zuma’s home. Many pastors and lay servants attend Seth Mokitimi Seminary according to the South Africa Annual Conference.
“Our city has been hit especially hard, starting early yesterday morning (July 12),” Rev. Magruder stated. “I just came back into my apartment from the corner store, where a group of concerned neighbors has gathered with sticks and paintball guns to protect the store, as it is starting to get dark. That's what is happening all over the city – neighborhoods are banding together to protect local shops.
“Unfortunately, several malls have been looted and burned, and many stores have been completely looted. It's happening in broad daylight because the police are completely overwhelmed. The army has been called in to support the police, but we haven't really seen many soldiers in Pietermaritzburg yet.”
Rev. Magruder said the unrest has caused the seminary to postpone classes.
“The seminary was originally supposed to open the semester a week ago Monday (July 5th) but the President instituted a Level 4 lockdown for the third wave of COVID and so the start date was pushed back to yesterday, Monday, July 12,” Rev. Magruder said.
“Over the weekend, however, the protests started, and half of the students couldn't even get to town. And on Sunday night, the President announced they were extending that lockdown by 14 days. So, we went into the office briefly on Monday morning, and were promptly told to go home and stay home until Thursday (July 15) at least, as we wait for the unrest to settle.
“But there's still the problem that we can't have in-person classes for two more weeks. So, it's kind of a day-to-day approach at the seminary. All other schools are in winter vacation and weren't planning to be back in session until the last week of July," Rev. Magruder said.
So far two church organizations have issued pleas for rioters and looters to stop. The South Africa Council of Churches and the Local Preachers Association of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, a separate denomination from the UMC, urged their fellow citizens to stop the violence caused by those who believe Mr. Zuma has been unjustly convicted.
“The reality is that the protests … have opened the space for large scale criminality that is fed by poverty, a nothing-to-lose mindset and deep-seated anger in the absence of hope,” said the South African Council of Churches' three-page statement. “The SACC urgently appeals for an end to the violent protests spilling into criminal acts of wanton vandalism and looting that should not be sustained in a constitutional democracy.”
No to Looting
Photo courtesy of Wes Magruder
The heading “We Say No to Looting & Vandalization,” the Local Preachers Association called on MCSA preachers not to join in the rioting. “We further call on all members across the Connexion, friends, families and relatives to continue to act responsibly during the expression of any unhappiness, any form of injustice, and outcry to ensure the saving of the lives of others,” the statement said.
The South Africa Annual Conference is one of the smallest conferences in the United Methodist Church, according to its 2019 report posted on UM News. Insight could find no 2020 annual conference report for South Africa, probably because the coronavirus pandemic has caused many church meetings to be postponed. UMC conferences south of the equator typically meet in November and December, which is summer in the southern hemisphere.
The latest post on the conference Facebook page is dated July 10 and doesn’t mention the unrest that erupted over the weekend.
The 2019 report from the South African Conference stated: “We have small churches in the rural areas or townships, large churches that we call pastoral charges, and local churches in rural and urban areas.” In 2019, membership stood at 13,000, with worship attendance of 10,000.
This developing story will be updated as information is received.
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.