President Zuma must say how many Defence Force members were deployed with the Police

Only the President of South Africa may authorise the deployment of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) together with the Police. President Jacob Zuma must therefore, in terms of section 201(3) of the Constitution, provide the reasons for, the number of and the period for which the Defence Force is being deployed together with the Police, Dr. Pieter Groenewald the FF Plus’ chief spokesperson on Police and Defence says.

Dr. Groenewald says it is therefore wrong of the minister of Defence, Ms. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to refrain from stating the number of soldiers being deployed with the Police. She informed the media yesterday that she could for ‘security reasons’ not say where and when the Defence Force will be deployed.

According to Dr. Groenewald the deployment of the Defence Force with the Police is a serious intervention and points to a reasonable risk of instability.

“The Constitution provides that the President may obtain permission from Parliament for the Defence Force to render assistance to the Police and if Parliament is not in session, from the Defence Committee. If this was not adhered to, such a deployment is unconstitutional and therefore unlawful.

“The FF Plus does not object to the Defence Force being deployed with the Police in this instance, but government will have to seriously reflect on the issue to ensure that the security services such as the Police and Intelligence do their work thoroughly to prevent any instability from becoming so bad that the SANDF has to be used,” Dr. Groenewald said.

Statement issued by Dr. Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus chief spokesperson: Police and Defence, April 22 2015