South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has approved the deployment of South African Defence Force (SANDF) members across all provinces until the end of July 2026.
This is in response to the illegal migrant protests and threats of violence.
The SANDF deployment expenditure of R54 million is in addition to the SAPS R600 million budget for Tuesday’s protests, which went relatively peacefully with a few looting incidents in some provinces.
Ramaphosa informed National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza about the deployment in a letter published by Parliament on Friday morning.
In his letter, Ramaphosa said the move is “to prevent and combat crime and maintain and preserve law and order in the country.”
The deployment also forms part of Operation Prosper in the event of “required emergency heightened security measures” in all nine provinces.
