Case Explained: South Africa sends in troops to combat organized crime – Legal Perspective

South Africa faces one of the world’s worst rates of violent crime. In 2024,  26,232 murders  were recorded — or about 72 each day — for a homicide rate of nearly 42 per 100,000 people.

Data derived from early 2025 numbers show a 12.4% drop in murders (5,727 cases) and fewer serious assaults, but these gains haven’t changed the big picture: Violence is still widespread, and many South Africans feel unsafe.

“It has often been linked to the fact that we are among the most unequal societies in the world in terms of wealth distribution, alongside high levels of poverty, and corrupt policing,” Ryan Cummings, director of analysis at Signal Risk consultancy based in Cape Town, told DW.

Crime is heavily concentrated in the provinces of Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which consistently report the highest national organized crime figures.

“The areas, in a way, are being controlled by the different gangs. Then the gangs fight with each other, and people get shot,” Pierre de Vos, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Cape Town, told DW.

Kidnappings and armed robberies continue to increase, with abductions rising by 6.8% in the first quarter of 2025.

Burglary remains the most common household crime, despite an 8.5% year-on-year decline in property-related offenses in late 2024. Sexual offenses, particularly rape, continue to increase. Rape constitutes 79% of sexual crimes and is the only contact crime category to show a year-on-year increase.

Ramaphosa’s gamble to send in the military

Against this backdrop, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his State of the Nation Address on February 12 that he would send the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to back up the police. He called organized crime “the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society, and our economic development.”

The move is part of a wider national security program that also plans to hire 5,500 more police officers and improve intelligence and surveillance.

“The police and SANDF are finalizing operational plans that the President will  provide to parliament. Dates, personnel numbers, and costs will be covered in the letter the President will send to parliament,” Presidency spokesman Vincent Magwenya said in a written response to questions about the timeline sent by DW.

As per South Africa’s constitution, the president must inform Parliament in writing of any military deployments.

Some observers say Ramaphosa’s announcement may be interpreted as a form of appeasement to partners in his ruling coalition. 

“It could have been a demand coming from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the party that is a coalition partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU),” de Vos said. He added that the DA has made similar demands before.

De Vos said troops might need training before being sent to work alongside the police.

The deployment will focus mainly on gang-affected communities in the Western Cape and high-crime parts of Gauteng. Ramaphosa told police and military leaders to finish a tactical plan “within a few days,” saying children in the Western Cape are caught in gang violence, while illegal miners, called zama zamas, are pushing residents out in Gauteng.

Applause and concerns over the pending army deployment

“When we’re talking about crime, and specifically violent crime, levels of criminality are specifically elevated in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town,” Cummings said. He added that there is evidence of quite good collaboration between the army and the police service in undertaking these initiatives.

Though many residents of areas especially affected by crime support the decision, some worry about the military’s long-term role in civilian policing.

South African Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, the leader of the anti-immigration Patriotic Alliance, told DW that he is “impressed” by Ramaphosa’s decision. Mckenzie said he was also satisfied that Ramaphosa spoke about “illegal foreigners and businesses that hire illegal foreigners.”

Other South African leaders were less supportive of the president’s plan. “This was a waste of R7 million ($438,000, €343,000),” Mzwanele Manyi, a lawmaker from the Umkhonto we Sizwe party, said. 

South Africa’s military has been called on periodically to aid in border protection, particularly on the Zimbabwean border, to curb smuggling and human trafficking. While they don’t ordinarily operate within the country’s borders, they were deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic and during unrest in July 2021 to aid the South African Police Service (SAPS) with crowd and riot control.

Improving the image of the police force 

Corruption scandals have eroded public trust in the SAPS. In mid-2025, KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused senior officials, including Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, of interfering in investigations, working with organized crime groups, and trying to shut down units probing political killings. Ramaphosa then established a judicial commission, placed Mchunu on leave, and initiated a parliamentary inquiry.

“There are many problems with the police,” de Vos said. “To some degree, it has been politicized, or the people who wanted to be corrupt in the police or wanted to corrupt the police used political alliances with people in the police.”

Additional reports have raised ongoing worries about corrupt contract deals, meddling in politically sensitive cases, and links between officers and criminal cartels. Analysts warn that, without urgent reforms, syndicate control of the justice system could pose a “real risk of total collapse.”

Dianne Hawker-Kalubi and Thuso Khumalo in Johannesburg contributed to this article

Edited by: Cai Nebe