Johannesburg - The looting taking place in Soweto, south of Johannesburg, is a criminal act, Gauteng premier David Makhura said on Friday.
“Any looting cannot be justified. It has to be stopped by the police,” he told reporters outside the Moroka police station in Soweto.
“We do not want a situation where being a foreigner is a crime,” he said.
Makhura and religious leaders were walking about the areas in Soweto affected by looting. He said he would not leave Soweto until quiet was restored.
Makhura said the provincial government had a plan to assist township businesses.
He said foreigners were welcome to do business in Gauteng, but they had to follow due process and regulations.
Gauteng police provincial commissioner General Lesetja Mothiba said youth addicted to drugs were identified as those looting shops.
“They targeted specific items such as prepaid airtime vouchers, cigarettes and cash,” he said.
Mothiba said 153 people have been arrested since the looting started on Monday in Snake Park, near Dobsonville, after a foreigner allegedly shot dead a teenager who was in a group of people apparently trying to rob his shop.
He was arrested and will appear in the Protea Magistrate's Court on Monday to apply for bail.
The looting spread to other part of Soweto, and has since spilled over to Sebokeng in the Vaal and Kagiso on the West Rand.
Sapa