Pretoria - The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) would continue to support police in areas where xenophobic violence erupted, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on Tuesday.
“For as long as the police are conducting the kind of operations which they are involved in now, the defence force will be there to provide support. The police have planned operations for X number of months, for a specific reason we will remain on the ground,” she told reporters in Pretoria.
She said the army was called in owing to the grave situation which has left at least seven people dead.
“We need to make it clear that there was an outbreak of xenophobic attacks in the country. Whether it happened in one province or another, these were vicious attacks which resulted in murders of people,” she said.
“After the attacks in Alexandra, South Africans were shocked by the footage we saw. It became necessary for Natjoints (national joint operations and intelligence structure) to look at the matter and make a recommendation on what needed to be done.”
She said deploying troops was the “correct thing” given the circumstances.
“We are happy that we have been part of those operations. The purpose of having the SANDF being to provide all the support and protection to the police,” she said
Mapisa-Nqakula said the army was cordoning off areas during police search and seizure operations.
“Before the deployment of the SANDF everybody was calling on the army. ‘Where is the army? Where is the army?’ Now that the army is deployed, ‘what do they want, it’s an overkill this and that’,” she said.
“The Constitution provides for the defence force to come in, in support of the police when need arises.”
She said President Jacob Zuma had seven days to report to Parliament on the deployment of troops.
“Seven days. Seven. Even if, for instance, there hasn’t been a report to Parliament, we have seven days within which we should do that.”
Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said Zuma informed Parliament about the army deployment on April 24. He said the permission granted runs until June 30.
Radebe said government has already repatriated 1 997 undocumented migrants from KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Malawi had 911, Zimbabwe 753, Mozambique 316 and 17 Tanzanians were part of the 1, 997.
“The total number of documented persons who are awaiting repatriation is 1 507. We will continue to engage with their missions to ensure a smooth process,” said Radebe.
He said South Africa continued to welcome thousands of visitors from the African continent.
“During the month of March, 10 548 people from Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe visited South Africa. From the beginning of April to date, we have welcomed 13 533 people from the same countries,” said Radebe.
“We are heartened that our brothers and sisters on the continent still consider our country a multicultural society that welcomes and promotes interaction among people of different backgrounds.”
He assured people intending to travel to South Africa that the rule of law was still reigning supreme.
“The violence has stopped. We are now working hard to ensure that nobody within the borders of our country is victimised based on the country of their origin,” said Radebe.
ANA