Image Source: SABC News
Local – Despite the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to gang hotspots across the Cape Flats, violence continues to claim lives in affected communities. Recent incidents underscore the grim reality on the ground, with shootings and fatalities showing little sign of abating since the intervention was announced.
The deployment, which was met with widespread anticipation from residents who had long demanded military support, has yet to translate into measurable calm. Authorities maintain that the SANDF is present to bolster police capacity, but community leaders and activists are raising pointed questions about the strategy’s long-term viability.
South African activist, CEO of Inspire Network and veteran leader in the Elsies River CPF, Imraahn Mukaddam, said the intervention signals a deeper institutional failure. He argued that calling in the military amounted to an acknowledgement that existing law enforcement structures had been overwhelmed.
“It will appear that the police on their own are unable to contain the gang problem, which also affects the rest of the country, and the use of the army as a force multiplier to reinforce the numbers basically might be justified, but we believe it’s actually an admission of failure of the state and the police.”
Boots on the Ground, Blood on the Streets
Mukaddam pointed to a recent shooting in Elsies River as evidence that the deployment has not yet produced results. The incident, which left two teenagers dead, showed how lethal gang activity remains in the area.
He said previous SANDF deployments in 2019 and during Covid produced only short-lived results. Gangs have repeatedly shown they can adjust when confronted with increased security presence, finding ways to continue operating despite additional forces on the ground.
“We have seen in past deployments in 2019 and during Covid that there is an initial impact [in the] first couple of weeks — you see some calm restoring to the streets — but very quickly it’s business as usual for the gangs as they adapt to the new paradigm and find ways around the additional presence on the ground.”
