The SANDF will undertake joint training with the SAPS to better prepare them to deal with civilians in high-pressure situations.
The window for the deployment of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) is open and will not close until next year.
South African Police Service (SAPS) officials on Wednesday provided a joint parliamentary committee with a plan to crack down on organized crime, gangsterism and illegal mining across the country.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced SANDF deployed at crime hotspots Gauteng, North West and Western Cape, with the Eastern Cape added to the list later.
SAPS steered the committee through the operational hierarchy and objectives of the deployment, which is ordered to run from March 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027.
SANDF trained on civilian interaction
Major General Mark Henkel said the SANDF deployment fell under section 201(2)(a) of the Constitution and section 19(3)(c)(ii) of the Defense Act.
The primary objectives will be crime reduction, arrest of criminals and recovery of firearms, explosives, narcotics and “tools of the trade”.
The ground forces will be commanded by a mission area joint operations center and a strategic joint operations center, monitored by joint operational and intelligence structures at the national level.
Pre-deployment training will include joint exercises in which SANDF personnel will be trained on police force protocols and escalation procedures.
“Strategic guidelines have been developed regarding compliance with basic human rights and rules of operational conduct for deployed joint forces,” Henkel said.
The statutory guidelines will cover strategic instructions to commanders, clarification of roles and proportionate compliance with the constitutionality of deployment.
“It should be cognizant that although these guidelines may be interpreted as orders, its application requires a value judgment based on appropriate training.”
SAPS to handle custody
Local teams will report weekly and quarterly to national commanders, who will provide detailed reports to the government.
National Police Commissioner General Fanny Masemola said the SANDF deployment would go hand in hand with a revised policing strategy.
Masemola said SAPS will implement a national organized crime model from April 1.
“We will have dedicated teams to deal with specific crimes; there will be smaller teams to deal with specific crimes like carjacking, extortion, cross-border vehicle crime and drugs.
“The job of the SANDF is to stabilize the areas, while the rest of the teams will deal with organized crime, to dismantle those syndicates,” the general said.
Arrests will be made in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act, which will require any SANDF member making an arrest to hand over suspects to the SAPS.
The police and SANDF shall be prohibited from any discriminatory, degrading, inhuman or cruel treatment, or from any arbitrary arrest or detention.
“The member effecting the arrest is legally required to provide an arrest statement,” Hankel confirmed.
Further 'transparency' needed
EFF's Lee-Ann Mathis began the question session with a candid assessment, but welcomed the subsequent interventions.
Mathis said, “It is a sad moment for us that we have succumbed to the fact that SAPS has failed and to the fact that we have to bring in the SANDF. This is not a day we should be celebrating. Nevertheless, we are hopeful.”
Committee members Lisa-Marie Schickerling and Darlene James asked whether additional investigative resources would be invested, as well as what recourse victimized civilians would have against poor trooper or police behavior.
Masemola made no commitments on the issues and said that budget resources and existing complaint mechanisms would determine these outcomes.
The meeting was chaired by the DA's Ian Cameron, who said the committee supported decisive action on targeted crimes, but stressed the need for clear monitoring.
Cameron explained, “There must be transparency in the Criminal Assets Recovery Account's funding allocation, there must be clarity on whether this deployment will truly be intelligence-led and prosecution-driven, and there must be clear performance indicators to measure success, not just arrest numbers.” citizen.
“We also need answers on whether SAPS has the forensic and investigative capacity to handle the potential influx of evidence arising from these operations.
They concluded, “Without proper investigation and prosecution, a military deployment risks becoming a temporary show of force rather than the permanent disruption of organized crime networks.”
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