I have been around long enough to be aware of the growing density of the population in South Africa. While it has been a relentless increase, it is slow and steady, leading to unanticipated tensions. I was born and lived in South Africa for 63years before leaving to live in the UK, where I have been for further 22 years.

My father was a detective in the South African Police until 1950. He took early retirement when the Nationalist Government came to power and expanded the mission of the SAP. He joined a local authority and peacefully relocated thousands of black people from the Cato Manor slums surrounding Durban to organised housing estates.

I spent much of my early years with my father as he investigated crimes in remote areas. I am sure it was not his intention to expose me to any danger. Still, there were times when unintended situations arose. Consequently, I saw it all, the fierce and the fighting, the dead and the living.

My father was an exceptional Zulu linguist; often, the Zulus themselves could not tell that he was not one of them. In 1949, an intense racial conflict arose in Durban. I happened to be with him during an incident; thousands of chanting Africans surrounded us with Indian owned busses burning in the background. With me at his side, he fearlessly stood and confronted the mob; they listened and dispersed. Within my earliest memories, we went to isolated areas that are now heavily populated. At the time, even the police used horses to perform their tasks in the absence of roads.

As I see it, the present (July 2021) looting and mayhem is nothing more than a relief of built-up tension. I have seen a consistent increase in the African population from the sparse numbers in my early years to today. It is unnatural for humans to be living in such conditions, denied food, freedom and jobs.