The Wall Street Journal - 03.04.2020

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, April 3, 2020 |A

JOHANNESBURG—In South
Africa, three people have been
killed as police have attacked
crowds with whips and rubber
bullets for defying a lockdown
to prevent the spread of the
coronavirus. Five more were
killed in Kenya, including a 13-
year-old boy hit by a stray bul-
let fired by police enforcing a
stay-at-home order in Nairobi.
In Uganda, soldiers shot and in-
jured two people for riding on
a motorbike during a curfew.
Across Africa, the violent ap-
proach of security forces has
marked the first days of a series
of lockdowns that could deter-
mine whether the pandemic will
continue its march across the
continent. More than a dozen
sub-Saharan Africa govern-
ments have deployed their mili-
taries in recent days to enforce
some of the world’s toughest re-
strictions—including bans on al-
cohol and tobacco sales—to
choke off the virus before it can
overwhelm the region’s under-
funded health-care systems.
But caught in the dragnet
are some of the world’s poor-
est people who are struggling
to maintain social distancing
in crowded slums and informal
settlements where govern-
ments fear disease—and un-
rest over the severity of the
curbs—could spread rapidly.
“Many people who live in
these areas feel the social con-
tract is weaker for them and
the state is not on their side,”
said Ryan Cummings, director
of Signal Risk, an Africa-fo-

commonplace. The African In-

stitute for Security Studies

said in a new report released

Wednesday that the threat

from state abuses enforcing

the lockdown could match the

threat of coronavirus itself.

South Africa’s government

has launched an investigation

after people were killed violat-

ing curfews in the outskirts of

Johannesburg and Cape Town,

threatening to undermine

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s

response to the crisis.

Most residents in such com-

munities are crowded into

small homes with no savings to

cushion them from economic

shocks. Basic methods to pre-

vent the spread of the virus,

such as regular hand-washing,

can be nearly impossible given

the scarcity of clean water.

Some 587 million Africans, al-

most 60% of the continent’s ur-

ban residents, live in these con-

ditions, according to the U.N.

South Africa, home to some

of the largest informal settle-

ments, has the highest number

of coronavirus cases recorded

on the continent so far at

1,353, though only a small

“This is not a moment for

‘skop, skiet and donner,’ ” he

said, using an Afrikaans phrase

meaning “kick, shoot and beat”

that was used by apartheid-era

police who used extreme force

in these same communities.

Since then, long lines of

people have been waiting at

supermarkets to buy food.

Musa Goinca, a 26-year-old ad-

ministrator who has lived in

the township his whole life

said many residents are an-

gered by the military-enforced

restrictions.

“People in Alex don’t always

like being told what to do,” she

said. “Each day people will be

on the streets...then the military

will come and patrol, and that’s

when these people will run.”

South Africa’s health minis-

ter said on Tuesday that the

curve of infection rate is start-

ing to flatten as a result of the

lockdown and that authorities

will soon roll out a large na-

tionwide testing program.

In Kenya, where the lock-

down is similarly stringent and

there are 59 confirmed corona-

virus cases, Amnesty Interna-

tional warned that people had

little room to adhere to cur-

fews and other social restric-

tions to slow the spread of the

disease. The rights group said

85% of the population works in

the informal economy,meaning

they have less of a cushion to

withstand the abrupt shutdown.

In neighboring Uganda,

President Yoweri Museveni in

late March unveiled new curbs

that require people to seek

permits to move around, even

for the elderly, infirm or preg-

nant women.

Mr. Museveni said the re-

strictions are needed to pre-

vent people in the cities leav-

ing for the countryside and

bringing the virus with them.

In the quiet streets of the

capital Kampala, however,

some Ugandans say hunger

will kill them before the virus

or the security forces can.

“I would rather risk being

beaten by policemen; I can’t

stay home and just watch my

hungry children crying,” said

James Kakoza, a taxi driver.

“We would not want to defy

the advice to stay home but

for most of us, this is our only

source of income.”

BYJOEPARKINSON
ANDNICHOLASBARIYO

cused political risk consul-

tancy. “But the social-distanc-

ing enforcement needs

community buy-in, and heavy-

handed policing will make

people more antagonistic to-

ward the security forces. It

could undermine the effort.”

The total number of con-

firmed coronavirus cases in

Africa is still lower than in the

rest of the world, but is grow-

ing quickly. The official tally

of infections rose above 6,

as of Thursday, spreading to

49 countries in Africa, accord-

ing to the World Health Or-

ganization. Testing, though,

lags far behind that in Asia or

the West, suggesting the epi-

demic has spread farther than

the official figures suggest.

Data provided by the African

Union mapping the first 40

days of the infection in Africa

suggested the continent is on

the same trajectory as Euro-

pean nations such as Italy or

Spain, where confirmed cases

rose exponentially at their peak.

Some 30 African nations are

now experiencing community

transmission of the virus, the

phase when the disease spreads

rapidly unless there are mas-

sive efforts to slow its advance

through lockdowns and other

forms of social distancing. The

WHO and the U.N. both have

warned that although Africa is

behind the curve infections, it

could quickly leapfrog the rest

of the world in deaths and pile

additional pressure on heavily

indebted African governments

dependent on foreign aid.

One of the main challenges

in stopping the spread of the

virus is how to enforce lock-

downs for hundreds of mil-

lions of citizens, often living in

impoverished slums with poor

sanitation and no running wa-

ter, and where lawlessness and

defiance of authorities are

As Cases Rise

In Africa, So

Does Brutality

Authorities take hard

lines in bid to enforce

lockdowns, leaving

poor people vulnerable

A police officer in Kampala beat a vendor on March 26, after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni ordered limits on movement.

BADRU KUTUMBA/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

number have been reported in

shantytowns so far. In addi-

tion to banning alcohol and

cigarette sales, the govern-

ment also has banned any out-

side exercise, adding to the

growing pressure.

In the sprawling Johannes-

burg township of Alexandra,

where about 350,000 people

live in a shantytown adjacent to

the financial district of Sand-

ton, known as the wealthiest

square mile in Africa, soldiers

in armored vehicles have been

enforcing the lockdown by

chasing people off the streets.

Video footage of soldiers and

police inflicting beatings has

angered many residents. Mr.

Ramaphosa had instructed

troops that their mission was

to save lives, not violate rights.

Some 30 African

nations are suffering

through community

transmission.

THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

NY