Debate intensifies over SANDF deployment after Athlone triple murder

A powerful plea to “silence the guns” has sharpened the debate over the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to the Cape Flats, as Athlone residents mourn the killing of nine-month-old Amra Lifia and two women.

Police confirmed that the mass shooting unfolded on Tuesday at about 10pm in Sunbird Court, Bridgetown, Athlone. The deceased women were aged 25 and 36, and one of them was Amra’s mother. Two adult men were also injured.

Preliminary information indicates that three suspects carried out the attack and fled the scene. They have not yet been arrested. The motive remains under investigation.

Police spokesperson Colonel Andrè Traut said detectives were working around the clock to trace those responsible.

“The South African Police Service strongly condemns the senseless and brutal attack in Sunbird Court. Detectives attached to the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit are working around the clock to identify and arrest the three suspects who fled the scene. All available resources have been mobilised in a bid to bring those responsible to justice,” Traut said.

In a video shared on Wednesday, Fight Against Crime South Africa spokesperson Jay Jay Ide said immediate action was needed.

“There are people who don’t believe that SANDF should be deployed and are suggesting this intervention and that intervention. Everything that they are proposing is absolutely correct. However, the problem lies in the fact that we need these interventions today and none of these interventions are going to happen today. What I can guarantee is that a shooting is going to happen today,” Ide said.

“We are trying to draw attention to the urgency of this matter which is why the SANDF deployment is so important. This is an action that can be taken today so that broader actions can be taken tomorrow.”

He described the deployment as an opportunity to stabilise affected areas so longer-term reforms could follow.

“The real fight doesn’t happen when the SANDF are deployed. It happens after they are deployed… Can we not all agree that the only thing that matters right now is silencing the guns,” Ide said.

Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety Anroux Marais said that following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of the SANDF deployment last Thursday, an engagement took place between Premier Alan Winde and Acting National Police Minister Firoz Cachalia.

At that stage, she said, no clear timelines or operational details could be confirmed. The process would be led at national level by the National Commissioner of SAPS together with the Chief of the SANDF, within an established framework used in previous deployments.

Drawing lessons from the 2019 intervention, Marais stressed that any deployment would only be effective if underpinned by a properly coordinated joint command structure integrating SAPS, the military, Metro Police, LEAP officers, law enforcement and traffic services into a centralised command centre.

Premier Winde welcomed the deployment as additional support in gang-affected areas but cautioned that it cannot replace long-term policing reform.

“The deployment of SANDF is a short term solution and cannot be a replacement for reforming the SAPS. Investigative powers must be shared with local police structures, vacancies must be filled and crime intelligence must be prioritised,” Winde said.

Cachalia told Parliament during the SONA debate that the National Commissioner of SAPS and the Chief of the SANDF had finalised the deployment plan, expected to begin within the next 10 days and to include the Eastern Cape. He said it would be accompanied by strengthened Anti-Gang Units and intelligence-driven operations targeting organised crime networks.

The SANDF had not responded to enquiries at the time of publication.

However, not all civic voices support the intervention.

Community-based formation !xhorro, under the banner “We the People”, publicly distanced itself from the President’s position, arguing that the SANDF’s presence represents a militarised response to what it describes as a social crisis.

“We do not need more boots on the ground. We need more communities to be given agency to take care of themselves,” the group said.

It argued that the crisis should be viewed as a “safety problem and not a security problem”, and warned that increasing security measures risks entrenching enforcement over empowerment.

Democratic Alliance MP Nicholas Gotsell has meanwhile called for accountability within SAPS leadership, alleging that corruption-accused officers remain stationed in gang-affected communities. SAPS has not yet publicly responded to those specific allegations.

The GOOD Party has similarly argued that soldiers can only stabilise an area temporarily and called for structural reform and strengthened detective capacity.

As political leaders and civic formations debate the merits of military deployment, Athlone residents are left grieving three lives lost — and confronting the urgent question of how best to restore lasting safety in their communities.

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