South Africa to Deploy Army Against Organised Crime as Ramaphosa Declares Gangs the 'Most Immediate Threat' to Democracy

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that he would deploy the military alongside police to combat organised crime, calling it "the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development" South Africa's Ramaphosa to deploy army to combat crimedw.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to deploy soldiers to fight the nation's massive crime crisis alongside police. "Organized crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society, and our economic development," Ramaphosa said in his state of the nation address on Thursday. He promised additional forces would be deployed "within a few days." "The cost of crime is measured in lives that are lost and futures that are cut short..

Speaking in his annual State of the Nation Address to Parliament in Cape Town, Ramaphosa said he had directed the minister of police and the chief of the South African National Defence Force to draw up a deployment plan targeting gang violence in the Western Cape and illegal mining operations in Gauteng province South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”.. The forces would be on the ground "within the next few days," he said South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”..

The announcement comes as South Africa grapples with one of the highest homicide rates in the world. The country records an average of roughly 60 killings per day, according to police statistics, with more than 20,000 murders annually in a population of about 63 million . Guns remain the most commonly used weapon, and illegal firearms fuel much of the violence despite stringent gun ownership laws South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”..

Western Cape gang wars and Gauteng's illegal mines

Ramaphosa painted a stark picture of the two provinces where troops will initially deploy. "Children here in the Western Cape are caught in the crossfire of gang wars. People are chased out of their homes by illegal miners in Gauteng," he told lawmakers South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”..

The illegal mining crisis has proved particularly intractable. South Africa has roughly 6,000 closed or abandoned mines, and armed gangs — referred to as "zama zamas," or "hustlers" in Zulu — routinely enter them to extract remaining gold reserves South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”.. The government says these miners are typically undocumented foreign nationals tied to crime syndicates, and authorities estimate South Africa lost more than $3 billion in gold to the illegal trade in 2024 alone South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”..

Cape Town's gang violence has persisted for decades, driven by the drug trade and territorial disputes in communities such as the Cape Flats. The city ranks among the most dangerous in South Africa according to the Numbeo crime index, alongside Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth South Africa's Ramaphosa to deploy army to combat crimedw.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to deploy soldiers to fight the nation's massive crime crisis alongside police. "Organized crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society, and our economic development," Ramaphosa said in his state of the nation address on Thursday. He promised additional forces would be deployed "within a few days." "The cost of crime is measured in lives that are lost and futures that are cut short..

Broader security overhaul

Beyond the military deployment, Ramaphosa outlined a wider security strategy. The government plans to recruit an additional 5,500 police officers and invest in technology-driven intelligence to identify and dismantle priority crime syndicates South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”.. South Africa ranks seventh out of 193 countries on the Global Organised Crime Index, which describes "mafia-style groups" with a "longstanding presence" operating through street gangs, prison gangs and extortion networks across illicit markets South Africa's Ramaphosa to deploy army to combat crimedw.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to deploy soldiers to fight the nation's massive crime crisis alongside police. "Organized crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society, and our economic development," Ramaphosa said in his state of the nation address on Thursday. He promised additional forces would be deployed "within a few days." "The cost of crime is measured in lives that are lost and futures that are cut short..

The president's emphasis on crime also carries a political dimension. Municipal elections are expected later this year, and endemic violence alongside failing public services — particularly water shortages — are among the issues most likely to erode support for the co-ruling African National Congress South Africa's Ramaphosa to deploy army to combat crimedw.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to deploy soldiers to fight the nation's massive crime crisis alongside police. "Organized crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society, and our economic development," Ramaphosa said in his state of the nation address on Thursday. He promised additional forces would be deployed "within a few days." "The cost of crime is measured in lives that are lost and futures that are cut short..

Crime has also become an international flashpoint. US President Donald Trump confronted Ramaphosa at a White House meeting last year with false claims that white South Africans faced a genocide — a characterisation rejected by the South African government, which notes that most crime victims are Black.

Water crisis and accountability

Ramaphosa devoted a significant portion of his address to South Africa's worsening water crisis. "Water outages are a symptom of a local government system that is not working," he said, pledging criminal charges against municipal officials who fail to deliver water to communities South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”..

The crisis has grown acute in Johannesburg, where residents held scattered protests this week after taps ran dry in some neighbourhoods for more than 20 days. The president attributed the shortages to a combination of drying climate conditions and consistent failures by local authorities to maintain water infrastructure South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”..

Coalition pressures

Ramaphosa has led South Africa's first-ever coalition government since June 2024, when the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid three decades earlier . The partnership with the pro-business Democratic Alliance has helped stabilise the economy — chronic power cuts have subsided and financial markets rallied — but widespread unemployment persists and the government faces mounting pressure to demonstrate concrete improvements in safety and service delivery South Africa's Ramaphosa to deploy army to combat crimedw.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to deploy soldiers to fight the nation's massive crime crisis alongside police. "Organized crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society, and our economic development," Ramaphosa said in his state of the nation address on Thursday. He promised additional forces would be deployed "within a few days." "The cost of crime is measured in lives that are lost and futures that are cut short..

The state of the nation address also touched on foreign policy. Ramaphosa said South Africans could not consider themselves "free" while "the people of Palestine, Cuba, Sudan, Western Sahara and elsewhere suffer occupation, oppression and war," criticising unnamed "powerful nations" that exert dominance over weaker states South Africa’s Ramaphosa says troops will deploy to tackle crime gangsaljazeera.com·SecondarySouth African President Cyril Ramaphosa said he will deploy the army to work alongside the police to tackle high levels of gang violence and other crimes in the country. Ramaphosa said on Thursday that he had directed the chiefs of the police and army to draw up a plan on where “our security forces should be deployed within the next few days in the Western Cape and in Gauteng to deal with gang violence and illegal mining”..

Whether the military deployment will produce lasting results remains an open question. South Africa's commission of inquiry into criminality, political interference and corruption in the criminal justice system — established after a top police official alleged the system had been infiltrated by crime syndicates — has been hearing testimony since September 2025 about systemic police corruption and abuse of power. The army's arrival may provide short-term relief, but the structural failures the commission is uncovering suggest the challenge runs far deeper than boots on the ground.