Violence spreads to S.Africa’s economic hub in wake of Zuma jailing

JOHANNESBURG, July 11 (Reuters) - Shops were looted overnight, a section of the M2 highway was closed and stick-wielding protesters marched through the streets of Johannesburg on Sunday, as sporadic acts of violence following the jailing of former South African President Jacob Zuma spread to the country’s main economic hub.

The unrest had mainly been concentrated in Zuma’s home province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), where he started serving a 15-month sentence for contempt of court on Wednesday night.

Zuma’s sentencing and subsequent imprisonment have been seen as a test of the post-apartheid nation’s ability to enforce the law fairly - even against powerful politicians - 27 years after the African National Congress (ANC) ousted the white minority rulers to usher in democracy.

But his incarceration has angered Zuma’s supporters and exposed rifts within the ANC.