Following Ramaphosa’s February 12 address, the SANDF began a one-year deployment on March 1 to aid SAPS against gang violence in the Western Cape’s Cape Flats and illegal mining in Gauteng, North West, Free State, and Eastern Cape areas.
Parliament approved over R800 million to fund the operation, which Lt Gen Siphiwe Sangweni described as temporary and intelligence-driven, with soldiers arresting suspects but handing them to police. While MPs criticized police shortcomings and costs may rise with logistics, officials emphasize human rights training and see it as strategic stabilization amid ongoing crime challenges.
[WATCH] “It is going to take longer than expected,” according to Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, who says the SANDF soldiers to be deployed to Western Cape and Gauteng to fight gangsterism and illegal mining are still being trained. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/68LpEAcOO8
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 7, 2026