The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) says it is waiting for a police order to activate its soldiers against any form of post-election violence.
SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said on Tuesday that the army had not yet received any signal to be on alert.
His comments come after the arrival of army vehicles on Tuesday last week which were stationed at potentially violent hotspots in Durban.
Some army vehicles were stationed at KwaMashu township near the violence-prone hostel in the north of Durban. Others were stationed at the Pinetown industrial zone, where most of the July 2021 unrest took place after former president Jacob Zuma’s arrest.
Some were patrolling the western parts of Durban townships near Mariannhill.
“So far, we are waiting for the police commissioner in KwaZulu-Natal, Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, to give us instructions because this is, in fact, his operation. We are all over the country, but this is a SAPS operation,” said Dlamini.
Mkhwanazi said the police were prepared for any eventuality and had planned accordingly.
About 800 public order police officers have been deployed in KZN.
Before the elections, around 500 troops were sent to the province, but last week national police commissioner Major-General Fannie Masemola announced an additional deployment of 300 public order police officers in KZN to deal with any form of post-election violence.
These deployments come as many people feared that the Umkhonto Wesizwe party’s anger over the election results and their elimination in the formation of the new coalition government in the province might result in violence and looting.
As plans are underway for the first sitting of the new KZN Legislature of the seventh administration in Pietermaritzburg on Friday, anger is growing among some MK members, who are calling on different WhatsApp groups for a shutdown.
Pictured above: Army troops are already on the ground in KZN.
Source: X
