Concerns raised amid the deployment of SANDF members in KZN

Concerns raised amid the deployment of SANDF members in KZN Zandile.Khumalo Tue, 10/27/2026 - 19:36

CAMBRIDGE - Migration Researcher warns that the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in KwaZulu-Natal could see a potential for ongoing conflict.

According to Professor Loren Landau, while statistics show that the deployment of the SANDF has suppressed crime in the initial phase, it has done very little to dismantle the kind of criminal networks or others that are controlling these spaces.

“The military are not an investigative force. They are a blunt force. What we need is real investigation into the people behind these movements and to try to address them through proper policing and security mobilisation,” he explained.

Landau’s comments come as President Cyril Ramaphosa has dispatched 510 SANDF members to support police under Operation Prosper until the end of November.

The deployment was announced days before the local government elections and is expected to cost over R34 million.

The deployment follows violence sparked by misinformation about a Constitutional Court ruling on the Refugees Act.

The deployment comes just a week before the 4 November local government elections.

**READ | **Ramaphosa approves deployment of SANDF troops to KZN