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July Riots: SANDF chief says army was on the ground to protect people

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SANDF chief General Rudzani Maphwanya told the HRC they first deployed 2,500 soldiers but the number jumped to 25,000 because of the gravity of the situation on the ground.

The Chief General Rudzani Maphwanya at the South Africa Human Rights Commission hearing of the July Unrest. Picture: Kamogelo Moichela/ IOL Politics

Video by Kamogelo Moichela

THE chief of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) General Rudzani Maphwanya says the call to deploy troops came from the then minister of defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to support the SAPS during the riots last July.

He said the minister called on July 11 and the first batch of troops were on the ground on July 12. “The minister of police sent a request for support,” he said.

Maphanywa was testifying before the SA Human Rights Commission in Sandton on Tuesday on the July riots.

When asked about the unrest, he said they had to increase the number of troops constantly on the ground due to the gravity of the situation.

He said they deployed 2,500 soldiers and the numbers jumped to 25,000 because of the nature of the unrest. According to the general, President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised the deployment of soldiers after the violence spread.

The chief of the army said by the end of the unrest, over 22 000 soldiers were deployed in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

Maphwanya said the defence force had a standing operation, ‘Operation Prosper’, which was on standby ahead of the 2021 July unrest. He said the operation is always on standby for matters of this nature.

He told the commission that during the unrest, the main duty of the defence force was to protect the national keypoints to allow the police to deal with unrest. He maintained that the army was brought in not to shoot at citizens but to ensure they felt safe.

He clarified that the mandate of the SANDF is to maintain peace, order and stability. “Up to so far, there is no report that came to my office to say the troops have killed South Africans. The only report that I had is that of our members who had an accident,” he said.

However, he urged South Africans to respect the SAPS and let them do their work so that the SANDF is not needed in the streets. “If anyone threatens a soldier then that person is threatening South Africans because the job of a soldier is to protect the country,” he said.

“The July unrest was more of an eye opener, and we therefore say that we should be aware that what we have observed gives us an understanding that the defence of RSA protects all the elements of human security,” he said.

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Political Bureau

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