The joint task force comprising the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to tackle crime will not see soldiers performing ordinary policing functions, national commissioner Fannie Masemola told parliament on Wednesday.
The combined deployment is scheduled to commence on 31 March 2026 and run for 12 months, until 31 March 2027. The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure will receive weekly progress reports on its work.
“[The] SANDF is not going to do policing; they are just there to assist, to support, to complement the South African Police Service,” Masemola said.
The task team follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement in his State of the Nation address that organised crime posed a severe threat to the country and the SANDF would be deployed to bolster police capacity in fighting it.
“Our primary focus this year is on stepping up the fight against organised crime and criminal syndicates, using technology, intelligence and integrated law enforcement,” the president said.
The SAPS said the inclusion of the SANDF “is not only a strategic response but a necessary measure to restore public confidence and secure a safer environment for growth and investment”.
In his speech last month, Ramaphosa announced additional frontline capacity, including 5 500 new police officers to be recruited this year, adding to the 20 000 new officers announced previously.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced a peace and security spending increase in his budget speech on 25 February, from R268.2 billion in 2025/26 to R291.2bn in 2028/29.
Gondogwana allocated a further R2.7bn to the defence budget over the medium term to improve operations, including maintaining the South African Air Force’s fighter capability.
An amount of R1bn was allocated to the police service and another R1bn to the SANDF to support the Criminal Assets Recovery Account against organised crime.
On Wednesday, Masemola explained that soldiers would undertake support functions such as road searches, guarding police officers and manning roadblocks.
“By using the SANDF it means we’ll have more SAPS members doing the real work than guiding their colleagues. That function can be done by the SANDF,” he said.
Priority hotspot areas include the Western Cape and Eastern Cape. The focus will be on combating gangsterism in the Cape Flats and in Nelson Mandela Bay. In Gauteng, North West and the Free State, operations will target illicit mining.
As part of its operational objectives, the task force aims to reduce crime in designated action areas, arrest suspects, recover illegal firearms and confiscate mining equipment used in illegal operations.
The combined task force had committed to ensuring that members respected and protected civilian rights and dignity. Members were prohibited from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as well as arbitrary arrests and discriminatory conduct, the SAPS said in a presentation to parliament’s portfolio committee on the police.
It said that when SANDF members made arrests, the suspects would be handed to police for processing in accordance with the law.
National police commissioner Fannie Masemola said the army would play a supporting role to the South African Police Service
