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South Africa is in the grip of its worst unrest since the end of apartheid with shopkeepers firing at looters and a woman throwing her baby from a burning mall roof as violence sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma entered its fifth day today. 

At least 45 people have now died - including 10 trampled to death during a stampede at a looted shopping mall - in riots centered around KwaZulu-Natal and Guateng provinces that began last week and raged through the weekend after 79-year-old Zuma was jailed for failing to cooperate with a corruption probe.

The army has been called in to help stem the unrest after fearful citizens began forming 'defence squads' to protect their homes and businesses amid warnings that food supplies could soon run short as supermarket owners shut up shop amid the widespread looting.

 
President Cyril Ramaphosa, who Zuma and his supporters accuse of carrying out a witch-hunt against him with the corruption probe, appealed for calm as mobs ransacked shopping malls on Monday night - saying the current unrest is the worst the country has seen since the end of white minority rule in the 1990s.

While the roots of the disturbances may be political, Ramaphosa said, peaceful demonstrations have now been hijacked by 'opportunistic criminals' who are 'instigating chaos merely as a cover for looting and theft'.

'Together, we will defeat those who seek to destabilise our country,' he said. 'We will stand as one people, united against violence, unanimous in our commitment to peace and to the rule of law.'