President Ramaphosa Confident SANDF Deployment Will Curb Gang Violence As Capetonians Welcome Move
- President Cyril Ramaphosa discussed in more detail his decision to deploy the South African Defence Force (SANDF) to the Western Cape
- The president announced that he would deploy the SANDF to assist the police in combating gang violence in the province
- Ramaphosa made the announcement, which was welcomed by many, during the 2026 State of the Nation Address
- Councillor Avron Plaatjies, the councillor for Ward 76 in Cape Town, spoke to Briefly News about the president's announcement
- Michael Jacobs, the Community Policing Forum Chairperson of the Lentegeur Policing Precinct, welcomed Ramaphosa's decision
Source: Getty Images
Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent 10 years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism.
WESTERN CAPE – President Cyril Ramaphosa believes that the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in some areas will be a deterrent to criminals and inspire confidence among citizens.
Ramaphosa made the comment a day after announcing that he would be deploying the SANDF to assist police in tackling gang violence and illegal mining. The announcement was made during his 2026 State of the Nation Address speech on 12 February 2026.
Ramaphosa’s decision to deploy the SANDF has been welcomed by many, and the president broke down to the media why he believes it’s a decision that will reap rewards.
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What did Ramaphosa say about the deployment?
Speaking to the media at the annual Presidential Golf Challenge (PGC) at the Atlantic Beach Golf Estate, Melkbosstrand, on 13 February 2026, Ramaphosa said that the SANDF and the South African Police Service make a strong combination when they team up.
The president noted that the two had successes in the past, expressing confidence that it would be the same case now.
“So, I think it’s a very good combination, and it’s a combination that has worked very well in the past. We saw that very well during the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
Ramaphosa added that the deployment of the SANDF would give confidence to the people and serve as a deterrent.
“You must know that the soldiers are not police people. Soldiers are trained to kill and to defend the people of South Africa,” he said. The president added that in this case, they would be defending the peace and anti-criminality.
Capetonians welcome the news
Speaking to Briefly News, Michael Jacobs, Community Policing Forum (CPF) Chairperson of the Lentegeur Policing Precinct, welcomed the deployment.
“We, as a CPF and the broader community welcomes the announcement by the President to deploy the SANDF to the Cape Flats, as it is long overdue.
“However, we are also calling for greater intergovernmental and interdepartmental involvement and cooperation to ensure that all relevant government departments are activated to work more closely with communities to bring an end to gang violence and gang killings,” he said.
Councillor Avron Plaatjies, the councillor for Ward 76 in Cape Town, also welcomed the decision, but noted that this was just a temporary measure.
“I am happy for the deployment of the SANDF to the Cape Flats to deal with gang violence. It is a temporary solution for stabilising gang violence. Stabilising is not the complete answer. The answer is to secure convictions to put away the criminals who perpetrate domestic terrorism,” he said.
“I believe that the long-term solution is to achieve meaningful convictions by devolving policing powers to the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape government for us to play a meaningful role to help the police with these huge files of unprocessed dockets and the case loads that they have, to provide meaningful case dockets to the prosecutors for us to reach a meaningful conviction rate,” Councillor Plaatjies added.
Source: Getty Images
Other stories about gang violence
- Civil society groups, religious organisations, and members of the public called on President Ramaphosa to deploy the army to intervene in the violence on the Cape Flats.
- Opposition parties called on all levels of government to take urgent action against the ongoing gang violence in the Western Cape.
- Acting Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia admitted that police were still struggling to contain gang violence in the province.
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Source: Briefly News
