On 12 February 2026, the President announced that he had directed the Minister of Police and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to develop a tactical plan on where South African security forces should be deployed in the Western Cape and Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining.
He informed the nation that “As is required by the Constitution I will inform the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces regarding the timing and place of deployment of our soldiers and what it will cost”.
On 5 March 2026, the President informed Parliament of the deployment of SANDF members in Gauteng, which is required by The Constitution. The Presidential Minute rather confusingly shows a deployment starting date of 30 January 2026. Even if this is a typographical error, it is worrying in a document of such import and should be corrected.
The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) is alarmed by the lack of compliance with legislative provisions governing the deployment of SANDF in co-operation with the South African Police Services (SAPS). The Minister of Defence has failed to issue a notice in the Government Gazette within 24 hours of Presidential authorisation as required by Section 19 of the Defence Act.
As to compliance with the legislative requirement for training of SANDF members before deployment in support of the SAPS, it is worrying to note that on 4 March 2026, Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia stated that the deployment of SANDF in Gauteng would take longer than initially anticipated after a gang related violent incident. The Acting Minister indicated that the soldiers would first need to receive appropriate training to understand their limitation of power and engagement with civilians.
In the 2020 matter of Khosa v Minister of Defence, Judge Norman Fabricius explicitly referred to the necessity of such training in relation to section 20(11) of the Defence Act 42 of 2002, which requires SANDF members deployed in support of police operations to receive appropriate training. The Court emphasised that SANDF members must undergo re-education and reorientation in a “non-military fashion”, including adherence to the statutory limits on the use of force.
In a country with a painful history of military and police brutality, including in 2020 with the torture and death of Collins Khosa in Alexandra, Johannesburg, it is imperative that training is adequately and appropriately completed. HSF’s senior researcher speaks to the legacy of control and threat of danger by SANDF members in an article here.
In terms of the Defence Act, the Minister must approve a Code of Conduct and Operational Procedures before deployment in support of the police. In Khosa, the court ordered the publication of the Code of Conduct. While this is not a legislative requirement, a precedent has arguably been established, and it is in the public interest for the Code of Conduct to be published.
Given the serious implications of military involvement in civilian policing, HSF will continue to monitor the situation closely. HSF calls on government to urgently clarify operational safeguards, and oversight mechanisms governing the deployment in order to ensure full compliance with the law and to prevent any abuses of power.
