President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered the deployment of 2,000 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops alongside the South African Police Service (SAPS) in five provinces: Gauteng, the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, North West, and the Free State. The purpose of the military deployment is to combat escalating gang violence and illicit mining across the nation. National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said during a press briefing that the deployment of the army alongside the police will target hotspot areas identified through intelligence and crime analysis. Masemola explained that the army’s deployment, which will last for the next thirteen months, will focus on street crime. These specialized units will operate to dismantle complex organized crime networks.
Soldiers moved into gang-violence hotspots in Johannesburg on Wednesday to support police efforts to tackle rampant crime, described by President Cyril Ramaphosa as one of the biggest threats facing South Africa. The military deployment will last a year and cover five of the nine provinces, including Gauteng and the Western Cape. The measure has drawn criticism from experts and opposition politicians who say troops lack the skills for policing. “We might have seen in Gauteng, there have been deployments, there have been some 10 people arrested, a lot of confiscations of illegal mining equipment have been done with joint operational teams already working together on targeted enforcement and operations and area stabilisation activities,” Masemola said on Sunday. He added that the initiative is not solely about enforcement, but also aims to restore stability, rebuild trust between communities and law enforcement, and create safer conditions for social and economic development.
Success, Masemola said, will be measured not only by arrests and confiscations but also by reductions in violence, disruption of criminal networks, and restored community confidence.
South Africa is an evolving nation; however, regarding the SANDF deployment, its aftermath will determine its success. Ultimately, it will come down to what follows. Have the SAPS, provincial governments, and municipalities learned from the deployment, and will they be able to manage their own priorities and responsibilities thereafter? This remains to be seen.
Another concern is why the country does not have a trained disciplinary force – such as a National Guard – similar to that in the United States. Although South Africa has the Hawks (Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, DPCI), they operate under the direct control of the president and the Department of Justice, and their influence is limited. The disbandment of the Scorpions (Directorate of Special Operations, DSO) in 2009, which was a largely independent organization, left a gaping wound in the police forces tasked with combating organized crime.
What is needed are significant legal reforms to grant the Hawks greater autonomy in fighting crime. They should be allowed to operate as the Scorpions once did, with a strong mandate enshrined in the Constitution. Otherwise, the deployment of the military will only achieve short-term results.
The Chief of the Army Rudzani Maphwanya says threats to South Africans’ lives will not be tolerated any longer. Maphwanya says soldiers will confront any criminal element that threatens security in the country without fear. “We have seen too much lives lost. And one life is one more than enough and we are not going to tolerate any further escalation of any criminal activity that will take our people’s lives. We are not going to allow those who do not have the right to carry arms, to terrorise our people. And we will carry those arms and if you challenge us, we will show those criminal elements that this is the state and we are going to enforce by any means the law of order.”
What is needed to calm the national atmosphere is to reverse the legal ruling on the disbandment of the Scorpions. It must be acknowledged that the dissolution of the Directorate of Special Operations (DSO) was a profoundly damaging decision. The Democratic Alliance (DA), as the second-largest partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU), must at the very least strive to persuade its senior partner, the African National Congress (ANC), to grant the Hawks the same independence once enjoyed by the Scorpions, while remaining under the oversight of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD). The gaping wound of organized crime will continue to fester unless this issue is resolved. The deployment of the nation’s military will be short-lived unless long-term reforms are adopted.
The GNU must either revive the Scorpions or – if that is not possible – grant the Hawks greater autonomy to combat gang violence and other forms of organized crime. Only when transparency and accountability are allowed to prevail will the mafia no longer reign supreme.
Article written by:
Yacoob Cassim
Journalist at Radio Al Ansaar
