By Marcus Moloko
National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola and the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) Chief General Rudzani Maphwanya have announced the deployment of more than 2,000 members of the SANDF to assist the police in tackling priority crimes across the country.
The deployment, officially authorised for 13 months from March 2026 to 31 March 2027, will target hotspots in the Free State, Gauteng, North West, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape, though forces may be shifted depending on emerging threats.
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Masemola, during a briefing in Pretoria on Sunday, provided an update on current crime-fighting operations. The briefing comes after the deployment of SANDF members in cooperation with the SAPS under Operation Prosper.
He confirmed 2 000 soldiers were deployed to specific crime hotspot areas for at least 13 months.
Masemola emphasised that the joint operation carried a constitutional mandate for SAPS and SANDF members to “carry the responsibility of protecting democracy by restoring law and order in communities crippled by organised crime.”
The intervention was designed to disrupt gangsterism, illegal mining, and other forms of organised crime that had destabilised communities.
Maphwanya delivered a stern message to those behind illegal mining syndicates and armed gangs.
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“We are not going to allow those who do not have the right to carry arms to terrorize our people. We will show those criminal elements that this is the state, and we will enforce by any means the law and order.”
He said the SANDF’s role was to reinforce the state’s monopoly on the use of force, ensuring that armed groups could not operate with impunity.
While all nine provinces fall under the scope of the operation, resources will be concentrated where criminal activity is most entrenched.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had authorised the deployment of 2,200 members of the SANDF to support the SAPS in five provinces until March 2027, with the operation estimated to cost over R823 million.
