WC DA calls on national govt to clarify SANDF’s operational plan in province

Cape Town

Carlo Petersen

13 March 2026 | 5:29

DDA officials are now calling on the provincial police commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, and the acting police minister, Firoz Cachalia, to brief the Standing Committee on Police Oversight.

A South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldier looks out from an armoured personnel carrier during a patrol in Riverlea, near Johannesburg, on March 11, 2026. South Africa deployed soldiers for a year to provinces struggling to quell rampant crime and illegal mining, according to a mission plan presented to parliament on March 4, 2026. Picture: Ilaria Finizio/AFP

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape has called on the national government to provide clarity on the operational plan for the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) deployment in the province.

On Thursday night, SANDF soldiers raided various residential premises in gang hotspots in Gauteng, in a joint operation with the South African Police Service (SAPS).

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DA officials are now calling on the provincial police commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, and the acting police minister, Firoz Cachalia, to brief the Standing Committee on Police Oversight.

The DA's Western Cape spokesperson on Police Oversight and Community Safety, Benedicta Van Minnen, wants an outline of the SANDF's operational plan and a long-term strategy for after the soldiers withdraw.

Van Minnen highlighted the SANDF deployment in Gauteng, saying despite ongoing violence, the same urgency is never shown to the Western Cape.

"Soldiers can temporarily stabilise a situation, but they cannot replace proper policing, investigation and long-term crime prevention."

Van Minnen said without strengthened detective capacity, intelligence-led policing, and permanent policing resources, the deployment is only a temporary solution.