Police Minister Firoz Cachalia (Photo by Brenton Geach/Gallo Images via Getty Images)

• The deployment of the military to certain provinces has been delayed, Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said on Saturday.
• The minister visited Sophiatown police station in Johannesburg following a deadly shooting in Westbury on Thursday.
• According to Cachalia, the military must receive proper training in policing before being deployed. 

The military deployment promised by President Cyril Ramaphosa to combat gangsterism has begun in “some parts of the country”, but a full-scale rollout will “still take a while”, Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said on Saturday.

Cachalia confirmed the delay during a visit to the Sophiatown police station in Johannesburg, close to where a mass shooting in Westbury on Thursday night killed a mother and injured her 15-month-old baby, and wounded three others.

READ | MPs left in the dark as police give mixed signals on army deployment

Since Ramaphosa’s announcement nearly a month ago that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) would be deployed to the Western Cape, Gauteng, and later the Eastern Cape to intervene in gang violence and illegal mining, residents in crime-stricken areas of these provinces have been anxiously waiting to see boots on the ground. The deployment has since been extended to include the North West and Free State.

When asked about the timeline for the deployment, particularly in light of the ongoing gang violence in Westbury, Cachalia responded: “It is going to take a little bit longer than originally expected” due to the risks associated with deploying the military.

Cachalia said:

“This is so that we avoid a situation where people are hurt or caught in the line of fire and so forth. We want to make sure the army understands its role and that proper training is taking place.”

He added that when the army is deployed, they will focus on areas that are affected by gang violence and illegal mining.

“It is a stabilisation strategy. It is not going to solve the problem, so, in the meantime, we have to strengthen the policing response to the long-existing problem of gang violence,” he said.

Cachalia’s visit stems from the deadly shooting on the corner of Larkspur Court and Jacaranda Court in Westbury two days ago.

According to police spokesperson, Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, a group of people were at this location when an unknown number of suspects attacked them.

“All five victims sustained gunshot wounds, and one of them, an adult female, was declared dead on arrival at the hospital,” she said.

A 15-month-old baby was among the four injured.

Nevhuhulwi stated that the motive for the shooting was unknown.

While refraining from disclosing too much about the investigation publicly, he gave assurances that the police were making progress in the ongoing investigation into the shooting and had gathered valuable information.

He also confirmed that the police had leads on potential suspects.

Cachalia emphasised that significant effort would be directed toward supporting the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) in Gauteng to enhance the fight against gang-related activities.

He pointed out that AGUs were currently under-resourced, and these limited resources needed to be reassessed if authorities wanted to address the issue effectively.

READ | SANDF deployment to fight crime, illegal mining could cost more than R800m

Cachalia emphasised the importance of community crime-fighting initiatives, such as patrollers in specific areas, and said that he was exploring funding models to provide stipends and training for these patrollers.

The minister described the Westbury tragedy as “very heartbreaking” and said that he would be visiting the injured baby girl in the hospital on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the minister’s reassurances, a visibly upset resident criticised Cachalia’s brief “five-minute visit” to the police station, accusing him of ignoring the residents and calling his actions “disrespectful” and an insult to the people of Westbury.

The woman demanded answers about the military’s deployment, questioning its absence.

She expressed frustration, saying she could not understand why Cachalia prioritised visiting a baby in the hospital over engaging with the grieving families of victims who live in constant fear.

“This cannot be the order of the day – that the minister comes here for five minutes. This is unacceptable. Our concern is this: the army must be deployed because our children are dying prematurely in the streets of Westbury, Eldorado Park, and other areas every day,” she exclaimed.