SANDF deployment to KZN was a measure to prevent violence: Motshekga

Defence Minister Angie Motshekga says the deployment of more than 500 South African National Defence Force ( SANDF) members to KwaZulu-Natal earlier this month was done as an emergency measure to prevent large-scale violence and disruptions. Motshekga and senior SANDF officials briefed Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Defence about the R34 million deployment in support of police operations. This is in light of violent protests and looting in parts of KZN and Gauteng following a Constitutional Court ruling on asylum seekers last month. The deployment took place on October 9. Motshekga told MPs that because the deployment was an emergency, the process of informing Parliament was not adhered to. She says, “It was a rushed process because of the emergency nature of the process. When we got the request as an emergency, obviously I had to call the Chief of Defence Force to say, ‘please, prepare our people overnight’.” She adds, “It was actually within hours to quickly deploy people to case it. I requested the President to say, ‘President, the Minister of Police says there’s a situation which can go out of control if we don’t respond now,’ and which we did.” RELATED VIDEO | SANDF deployed to the Durban CBD: