South African army arrive in crime hotspots to help tackle gangs

South Africa’s military has been officially deployed to several parts of the country to help overwhelmed police crack down on violent crime, including illicit mining and gangs.

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced earlier this year the deployment of 2,200 troops to five of the country’s nine provinces hardest hit by criminal activity.

Authorities say the deployment, planned for a year, aims to restore order in crime-ridden areas, but critics warn that using the military in civilian policing rarely yields lasting results.

Illicit mining and gang violence are major problems in South Africa, where the murder rate is one of the highest in the world.

A first group of soldiers was deployed in March to several regions of Gauteng province, including Johannesburg.

The second and main cohort will contribute to operations in the Eastern Cape, Free State, North West and Western Cape provinces from April 1 for one year.

The BBC spoke to several residents of Eldorado Park, a suburb of Johannesburg, weeks after soldiers arrived in the area. It is one of three Johannesburg suburbs targeted during the initial military deployment due to high levels of gang violence.

Some of those interviewed expressed skepticism about the presence of the military in their neighborhood.

Leola Davies, a 74-year-old retiree, described Eldorado Park as a “hell to live in”.

“Sodom and Gomorrah has nothing here. I stay inside all day because I don’t want to be the next victim. Things are getting worse,” she said.

Elviena le Roux, a mother of three, told the BBC she did not think the army’s presence in the area would help, saying it would only “increase the violence”.

Ronald Rabie, 56, said that while seeing the army patrolling the streets makes some difference, in that it creates a safer environment for families, that peace is short-lived.

“Once they leave, things return to chaos – they have to be here all the time,” the father of three said.

This is not the first time Ramaphosa has deployed troops to help bring down the country’s high levels of crime.

In 2023, more than 3,000 troops were mobilized to combat illicit mining across the country for six months.

In July 2021, the army was also deployed to help quell deadly riots that hit the country following the arrest of former South African President Jacob Zuma.

Security experts have repeatedly warned that the military is trained for combat and not the type of community policing needed to build trust.

And there’s also history to contend with. The racist apartheid regime used the military to enforce its power – a legacy that still shapes how some South Africans view the soldiers on their streets today.

Criminologist Guy Lamb told the BBC he was not convinced the deployment would yield lasting results, saying soldiers “are not designed to engage in policing” but rather to engage in combat and use maximum force.

“There is a risk that they will escalate the situation or react very aggressively in tense situations,” he said.

He cited their behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic as an example. The deployment of the army during this period, intended to help enforce the curfew and other restrictions, drew sharp criticism as there were reports of excessive use of force by soldiers, illegal detentions and harassment of civilians.

Officials have expressed optimism that the troopers’ presence will make a difference this time around, but Lamb isn’t completely convinced.

He said that without “a dedicated plan…to try to understand why crime is so violent in these kinds of places”, there was a good chance that crime would pick up again once the soldiers left.

“So this is likely to happen in the near future as this plan to tackle the root causes of crime [in these] zones is not in place.

Additional reporting by Khanyisile Ngcobo

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