SANDF members patrol Alexandra on operations to police residents during the Covid-19 national lockdown. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was preparing contingents of troops for possible countrywide deployment in support of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
The Mail & Guardian understands from senior defence force officers that this measure is being taken as part of contingency planning in case of an emergency.
The SANDF started preparations to deploy in riot-stricken areas of KwaZulu-Natal and in Gauteng as looters left a trail of destruction in shopping malls and warehouses across the two provinces. More than 30 trucks were set alight in KwaZulu Natal in the past two days.
The police said on Monday morning that at least 219 arrests had been made. The majority (123) were made in KwaZulu-Natal where the unrest first started. In Gauteng, 96 arrests were made while at least seven fatalities were reported – one during a looting stampede in Vosloorus on the East Rand.
Brigadier General Mafi Mgobozi, the SANDF’s spokesperson, said the deployment was “in line with a request for assistance received from the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure to assist law enforcement agencies deployed in Gauteng and KZN respectively to quell the unrest that has gripped both provinces in the last few days.
“The deployment will commence as soon as all deployment processes are in place. The duration and number of deployed soldiers will be determined based on the assessment of the situation on the ground by the relevant law enforcement agencies.
“Furthermore, it must be emphasised that the SANDF`s deployment objective is to provide safety and a safe working environment for members of the SAPS and other law enforcement agencies whilst they carry out their constitutionally mandated law and order duties. SANDF deployment-related information updates will follow in due course.”
According to senior officers who spoke to the M&G the deployment will be done under Operation Prosper, which was the same code-name for the deployment of soldiers in support of the police on the Cape Flats in 2019.
The SANDF always has one company of soldiers on 25-hour standby for any possible needs of law enforcement agencies. In the rest of the provinces apart from KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng that would mean troops who might be on standby as Reserve Forces will be brought to their units. They will prepare there for further orders.
In KwaZulu-Natal the troops to be deployed will either be those from 5 SA Infantry Battalion in Ladysmith or from 121 SA Infantry Battalion in Mtubatuba.
In Gauteng, the usual battalion used for civil unrest is the 121 SA Infantry Battalion based at Lenz near Lenasia in Johannesburg. However, this unit is preparing to deploy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Gauteng group will thus probably consist of Reserve Force troops.
According to the officers, the troops will deploy using Mamba vehicles, as the available armoured Casspir vehicles have been earmarked as part of South Africa’s deployment of troops in Mozambique. South Africa and other countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are supposed to deploy the first of the SADC rapid deployment brigade in Cabo Delgado from Thursday 15 July.
Helicopters from the Air Force’s various squadrons have been placed on standby and so has 28 Squadron at Air Force Base Waterkloof’s Hercules C-130 transport aircraft in case soldiers have to be rapidly moved from one place to another.
The Defence Force soldiers will be armed with live ammunition with strict orders not to shoot unless their lives are in danger, the officers told the M&G. The SANDF is not issued with rubber ammunition for crowd control like the police are.
According to a press statement by the presidency, the deployment of SANDF soldiers is determined by Section 201(2)(a) of the constitution whereby the president may authorise the use of the SANDF in cooperation with the police service and must inform parliament of such employment.
The acting minister in the presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said in a statement: “The president is on record as calling for calm and warning criminal elements that they will face the full might of law as lawlessness is brought to an end and economic activity is allowed to continue.
“The majority of South Africans do not and should not tolerate violence, the destruction of property and the endangering of livelihoods. People are urged to report criminals by sharing videos of criminal activity with the police.
“It is also a crime to possess, receive and use stolen goods, or to interfere with the police in their execution of their duties.”
According to the SANDF officers the M&G spoke to, such a deployment will usually be for a month to be extended (or not) as is required by the security situation in the country.
As a typical example of how the soldiers will be utilised, the officers said they will cordon off areas where the police are trying to act to contain acts of violence or criminality. The troops may also patrol certain volatile areas at night and call in the police when situations would need arrests to be executed.
The current deployment of the defence force differs from declaring a state of emergency as the country is already in a national state of disaster under the Covid-19 lockdown, the officers explained.
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