Following the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to several crime-affected communities, a joint media briefing was held by SANDF and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to outline plans for intensified crime-fighting operations.
The deployment comes after SANDF personnel were spotted in Randfontein, Gauteng, as part of efforts to curb illegal mining and associated criminal activity in the area.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola welcomed the collaboration, describing the partnership as a significant step in the country’s fight against serious and violent crime.
“This partnership represents an important milestone in strengthening our collective national response to crime,” Masemola said, highlighting the reassurance the joint operations aim to give communities across the country.
The commissioner explained that the SANDF deployment, working alongside police, is designed to stabilise priority crime hotspot areas identified through intelligence and crime analysis.
“With careful planning, intelligence and research, while listening to the concerns of citizens across the country, the intervention will focus on hotspot areas including, but not limited to, Free State, Gauteng, North West, Western Cape and Eastern Cape,” Masemola said.
The SANDF will be deployed across provinces to tackle specific criminal threats. In the Western Cape, the focus is on gangsterism and violent crime, while in the Eastern Cape, the military will target gang-related activity.
In Gauteng, including communities like Randfontein, operations will concentrate on illegal mining, which has become linked to organised crime and violence. Similar illicit mining operations are also being targeted in the North West and Free State.
The presence of SANDF personnel in these communities signals a decisive move by law enforcement to take back control and ensure that residents feel safe.
Masemola added that South Africans can be assured that law enforcement agencies are taking action where it matters most, prioritising safety and the protection of communities.
Masemola further stressed that the state alone holds the authority to enforce the law.
“We are not going to allow those who do not have the right to carry arms to terrorise our people. We are going to ensure that the state apparatus takes full responsibility and ownership and say, we are the only ones who are empowered to have the monopoly of force,” he said.
Chief of the SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, emphasised that the military will work closely with SAPS in these operations.
He delivered a firm warning to criminal elements, asserting that violent crime and the unlawful carrying of weapons will no longer be tolerated.
“We are not going to tolerate any further escalation of any criminal activity that will take our people’s lives,” Maphwanya said.
“We will go out there and ensure that our people are protected. We will work jointly with our counterparts in the SAPS.”
He added that security forces will act decisively against criminals who challenge the authority of the state. “We will carry those arms and if you challenge us we will show those criminal elements that this is the state,” Maphwanya said.
The deployment is part of a broader effort by law enforcement agencies to stabilise communities affected by violent crime, gangsterism, and illegal mining, while sending a strong message that criminal activity will not be tolerated.
Communities in Randfontein, Westbury, Eldorado Park, and other hotspot areas are already seeing a visible increase in security presence as authorities aim to restore safety and confidence in the public sphere
Saturday Star
