Ramaphosa Notifies Parliament of 510-Soldier Deployment to KwaZulu-Natal

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has informed Parliament of his decision to deploy 510 members of the South African National Defence Force in KwaZulu-Natal, the Presidency announced on October 27. The soldiers are supporting the South African Police Service under Operation Prosper. The authorization covers October 9 to November 30, 2026, so the announcement concerns a deployment whose approved period had already begun. Ramaphosa informed National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza and National Council of Provinces Chairperson Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane. The Presidency linked the law-and-order deployment to recent violence arising from what it described as misinformation about a Constitutional Court judgment concerning the Refugee Act. That explanation is the Presidency’s account of the deployment’s purpose. The Presidency said: “The members of the SANDF will be on standby to support the police for any eventuality that may occur.” Its announcement cited section 201(2)(a) of the Constitution and put expected expenditure for the KwaZulu-Natal deployment at R34,082,720. In a separate announcement on March 13, the Presidency had authorized 2,200 SANDF personnel to help police combat illegal mining and gangsterism in Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, North West and Western Cape. That earlier Operation Prosper authorization runs from March 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027. The KwaZulu-Natal announcement specifies its own personnel number, cost and shorter deployment period.