South Africa: can the army alone curb gang violence?

Lawmakers in South Africa claim the measures implemented to combat gang violence in Cape Town are insufficient in securing targeted areas and preventing more deaths linked to organised crime.

The police showed an average of 63 people killed each day last year alone, with lawyers saying the figures are not showing enough of a change, according to Africanews and agencies as well as BBC News on 14 August.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the military presence as part of a broader response to organised crime, but the debate exposes a more difficult problem: soldiers can secure streets, while gangs draw their strength from criminal networks that military patrols cannot dismantle alone. Renewed scrutiny has brought to light increased attention in ensuring criminal gangs are structurally demolished which requires more than just financial investment in security.

The distinction is critical in areas such as Cape Town’s Cape Flats, where gangs are embedded in drug trafficking, extortion and territorial control. A military presence can increase security and support police operations, potentially reducing immediate violence, though gangs do not operate like conventional armed groups. Their ability to survive and thrive depends on replacing arrested members, moving money and weapons, and maintaining relationships inside communities and institutions.

South Africa says soldiers will support police and multidisciplinary teams targeting gang leadership. The strategy recognises that force alone is insufficient. Its real test, however, will be whether criminal organisations lose the capacity to rebuild once soldiers withdraw.

Parliament’s scrutiny also raises a question about the state’s reliance on military power for a civilian policing problem. Soldiers are being deployed to support law enforcement even though policing remains primarily a civilian responsibility. Concerns over military training, resources and the expanding domestic role of the armed forces therefore point to a wider institutional risk, repeated deployments could compensate for weaknesses in policing and intelligence without actually resolving them.

The challenge extends beyond gangs themselves. South Africa’s organised-crime economy also includes illegal mining, where authorities estimate that around 30,000 illegal miners operate across thousands of abandoned shafts. Criminal syndicates profit from these networks, illustrating how illicit markets and weak enforcement can reinforce one another.

For communities facing repeated shootings, additional security can save lives and create room for more police investigations, although others question whether those measures can turn short-term military intervention into lasting civilian peace.

Africanews via agencies, BBC, Maghrebi.org