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TRANSCRIPT
"Organised crime is now the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development. Our primary focus this year is on stepping up the fight against organised crime and criminal syndicates."
When South African president Cyril Ramaphosa declared that organised crime was the most immediate threat facing democracy in the country, he promised that tackling it would be his top priority.
"I will be deploying the South African National Defence Force to support the police, as we did to great effect with illegal mining."
A month on from that speech, soldiers are beginning to appear on the streets of Johannesburg, marking the first major deployment of troops.
South Africa's largest city, with a population of around six million people, is plagued by violent crime and illegal mining gangs, consistently ranking among the most dangerous cities in the world.
Throughout the country, police reported 6351 homicides from October to December 2025, an average of nearly 70 a day.
A resident of Westbury in Johannesburg, Veronica Foster says she expects the deployment will bring calm.
"Now it's gonna be, they'll be calm. I think they will be aware now that the soldiers are here. So the drugs will stop a bit, the shooting will stop."
South African police say troops will be deployed across five of the country's nine provinces, with the focus on places with some of the world's highest rates of violent crime.
The country has deployed the army several times to deal with public disorder in recent years.
In 2020, soldiers were also deployed to enforce strict lockdown rules during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Westbury local Brittany Scott says she's hopeful their presence will make a difference.
"It's a different feeling, because the last time we saw them was during COVID, so it's actually nice seeing them again, we feel more safe. I hope there's going to be a difference. I hope they'll make a difference."
Dotting the outskirts of Johannesburg, abandoned mine shafts have become hot spots for illegal gold mining.
Authorities in South Africa estimate around 30,000 illegal miners are operating in some of the country's 6000 abandoned mines.
They say these gangs are typically run by heavily armed crime syndicates, often brutal in defending their operations.
While many are welcoming of the troops, Westbury local Moesha Booysen says authorities need to actively dismantle the gangs.
"How long are they going to be trying to come and trying to protect our communities? Because the moment they leave, it's back to normal. They're out here driving in their cars. I hope they can go by foot, door by door, not driving in their cars, standing with their big guns for no reason. They need to stand up and walk with the community because we are tired. They are standing around, as you can see. They are not going door by door as they are. There's a massive shooting happening in Westbury all the time."
Street gangs are also a major issue in the country, with rival groups battling for control of the illegal drug trade and getting involved in extortion and contract killings.
Bystanders, including children, are often caught in the crossfire, losing their lives as collateral damage in the gang-related shootings.
In Cape Town, one of South Africa's most popular tourist cities, authorities say the Western Cape province is where around 90 per cent of the country's gang-related killings take place.
Craven Engel is the founder of Ceasefire, a public-health focused non-profit in Cape Town designed to prevent gang violence.
He says the presence of these gangs hinders the development of communities.
"There’s nothing happening within the community if there’s gang violence because everybody then blames it on this 5 per cent of grouping that's creating the violence. And the other 95 per cent suffers on the account of those 5 per cent of grouping that creates the violence. So what they do, the impact is that no developmental stuff happens within communities.”
Well aware of South Africa's past and the troops deployed to suppress pro-democracy protests under apartheid, President Ramaphosa says it's important the army is not deployed without good reason.
But, with murder rates jumping 25 per cent between 2019 and 2024, he says it has now become necessary.
In the suburb of Riverlea, resident Yasin Botha says he feels far safer knowing the army is nearby.
"I feel unsafe because we don't know when the next shooting is going to happen and we don't know who's targeted at. So, with army visibility and police visibility, I can assure you that I would feel 100% safe because I would know that in the event of a shooting, less than two minutes or one minute, there will be police visibility."
Craven Engel says while people have mixed emotions about the deployment, they will welcome even a single day without a shooting.
“I think from my point there’s some mixed emotions when it comes to the army. A lot of people want the army here because they are sick and tired of the violence. It looks to them as if nothing brings solutions. So there’s a good percentage of people from my point is that they want the army here. They’re hoping that the army will bring a little bit of peace. In fact even when we come in and we create solutions, even if it’s for one day the community will start clapping hands because there’s a day without shooting.”
