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Police are seen alongside members of the army in Cape Town as part of efforts to fight crime in this image captured on 01 April 2026.
Some members of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police have questioned whether the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on the Cape Flats is intelligence driven and whether there is an operational plan in place.
This comes after as at least eight people were killed and five were injured this past weekend.
The army has been deployed to the Cape Flats for about two weeks as part of Operation Prosper.
Democratic Alliance (DA) member of Parliament (MP), Lisa Schickerling, says the recent spate of shootings questions whether intelligence is informing the deployment.
“The deployment of the army appears uncoordinated and potentially ineffective in the current form. Dozens of shootings continue despite the presence of soldiers on the ground. The real issue is that the operation is not sufficiently intelligence-led or prosecution-driven. A force multiplier can only work if there is a strong policing foundation and that is exactly where the South African Police Service is currently falling short.”
A six-year-old girl was shot and wounded in the head in Valhalla Park on the Cape Flats when she was caught in the crossfire between rival gangs on Thursday morning.
Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg says the perpetrators fled the scene and are yet to be arrested.
Meanwhile, ActionSA MP Dereleen James has added that they will write to the Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia to get feedback on the operational plan and what could possibly be revised.
“It’s been business as usual on Cape Flats. Just this morning, a child was shot in the head. Not once did the deployment give us one night of peace on the Cape Flats, I am asking myself was there even an operational plan. We as ActionSA will write to the minister to relook at the plan, what is working, what is not working and what needs to be strengthened.”
SANDF begins deployment in Western Cape crime hotspots:
