DA’s Cameron demands answers over SANDF role in Gauteng anti-crime operations

Cape Town – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has raised concerns over the deployment of soldiers in crime-plagued communities in Gauteng, questioning whether the operation has the proper legal authority, planning and command structures in place.

DA MP Ian Cameron, chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police, said reports and footage emerging from Eldorado Park and Riverlea suggest that members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) are actively operating in residential areas as part of efforts to stabilise gang-violence hotspots.

Cameron said his concerns were not about the SANDF supporting the South African Police Service (SAPS), but whether the deployment was properly authorised and coordinated.

“Parliament has not approved any new SANDF deployment specifically aimed at combating gang-related crime following the State of the Nation Address,” Cameron said, adding that if a new deployment had taken place, it must be clearly explained.

He said there had been little clarity in recent days about whether SAPS and the SANDF had conducted joint operational training in the provinces where deployments were expected, or how command and control structures between the two forces would function.

Footage and reports emerging today from Eldorado Park and Riverlea raise serious questions about the current SANDF deployment in parts of Gauteng.

Let me be clear at the outset. This is not criticism of the SANDF assisting with stabilisation on the ground in support of the South… pic.twitter.com/Yvn98AN45L

— Ian Cameron (@IanCameron23) March 11, 2026

Cameron also expressed concern over the apparent absence of visible SAPS officers during operations on the ground, particularly senior police officials who should ordinarily lead law-enforcement operations.

“In South Africa the military does not replace the police,” Cameron said, noting that under section 201(2)(a) of the Constitution and the Defence Act, the SANDF may only assist SAPS during internal deployments while the police remain the lead authority.

He added that scenes showing soldiers arresting civilians, including a teenage boy in a residential street, raised further questions about the operational framework of the deployment.

Cameron said he had written urgently to the National Commissioner of SAPS requesting clarity within 24 hours on the legal basis for the deployment and whether it had been formally authorised and reported to Parliament.

Among the questions raised were whether the operation forms part of security interventions announced during the State of the Nation Address, or if it is linked to an extension of the existing SANDF deployment that was originally authorised to combat illegal mining.

Clear command structures

He also asked what rules of engagement had been issued to soldiers operating in civilian environments and how command structures between SAPS and the SANDF were organised.

The DA further raised concerns about whether the criminal justice system was prepared to support arrests arising from the operations, including whether courts had been briefed, forensic capacity was in place and detectives assigned to ensure cases lead to successful prosecutions.

“Without clear command structures, proper joint training and integration with the criminal justice system, deployments like this risk creating confusion rather than delivering meaningful results in the fight against organised crime and gang violence,” Cameron said.

He added that South Africans deserve transparency and accountability when military resources are deployed in civilian communities.