Reports say the building went up in flames after protesters set fire to the shops below which spread to the top, leaving occupants trapped in the burning building.
A devastated mother who was part of the victims thought it prudent to throw her child from the top of the building into the waiting arms of a group that had gathered around.
Fortunately, the child was saved but it is unclear what became of its mother and other trapped victims.
The situation appeared to have overwhelmed the police, so soldiers have been reportedly deployed onto the streets to restore order.
The ongoing protest is in solidarity with the country’s former President whose supporters have been demanding his release from prison.
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The disturbances reportedly spread from Mr. Zuma’s home in KwaZulu-Natal province to the country’s biggest city Johannesburg and surrounding Gauteng province, and to the Indian Ocean port city of Durban.
Not less than 72 people have reportedly died following clashes in several cities across the country between loyalists of Zuma and the police on Tuesday, July 13, 2021.
The protesters have been reported to have been looting and setting alight shopping centres to register their displeasure at the jailing of the former President who was found guilty of contempt of court by South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court.