EFF and ActionSA demand answers over SANDF at #JusticeForCweCwe protest

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, while ActionSA has addressed a letter to Defence Minister Angie Motshekga, both demanding clarification regarding the alleged deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) during the #JusticeForCweCwe protests in Matatiele on Tuesday.

Nationwide protests demanding justice for seven-year-old CweCwe continued on Tuesday in Matatiele and Mthatha in the Eastern Cape and Cape Town.

Scores of residents in Matatiele gathered outside Bergview College — where a person allegedly raped the girl in October 2024 — to voice their concerns about the case.

Who deployed SANDF at #JusticeForCweCwe protest?

However, the protesters were aggravated by the deployment of SANDF members and the heavy presence of private security at the school. Videos of the protest showed SANDF members standing with the police, monitoring the march.

Watch: SANDF members at #JusticeForCweCwe march

[WATCH] The SANDF has been deployed at the #JusticeForCwecwe march in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/eNlLCbhZN0

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— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) April 8, 2025

One of the march organisers, Eastern Cape ANCYL provincial secretary Francisco Dyantyi, said the march was peaceful, and the residents were there to demand justice.

 “But what is provoking the crowd is that there is the deployment of SANDF. We don’t know who deployed them. There is a deployment of heavy security by the school, and now we’re saying, ‘Who’s in charge of this country?’” Dyantyi told Newzroom Afrika.

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“We are marching and demonstrating our rights. Then, there is a deployment of SANDF. When we needed them to be here to make sure that they fight the injustice that is taking place in Matatiele, they were nowhere to be found.”

The presence of the SANDF at the march was condemned by political parties such as the EFF and ActionSA.

The EFF said the alleged deployment was a state-sponsored intimidation and declaration of war against the young and voiceless by the government.

‘Declaration of war against young and voiceless’ – EFF

“These are not criminals nor terrorists. These are young people, some still in primary school, who have taken up the noble cause of defending the dignity and humanity of a seven-year-old child whose pain and trauma have been met with silence, confusion, and cover-up by the institutions meant to protect them,” the EFF said in a statement.

The red berets took it further and sent a letter to the speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, demanding answers on the deployment of the SANDF at the protest.

The EFF said only President Cyril Ramaphosa may authorise the employment of the defence force in cooperation with the police service.

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“Did the president formally communicate to Parliament his intention to deploy the SANDF to assist the Saps in providing security at the protests for justice for CweCwe?” EFF national chairperson and Parliamentary chief whip Nontando Nolutshungu asked in the letter.

“If so, may you urgently share the letter the president sent to Parliament in this regard?”

ActionSA chief whip Lerato Ngobeni wrote a letter to Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga saying the party was alarmed to witness live news footage showing defence personnel present at the protest.

ActionSA send letter to Motshekga demanding answers

The party also said government must report the employment of the SANDF to Parliament without delay.

“To date, no such notice to Parliament has been furnished, nor has any gazette been made publicly available. This omission is not only procedurally unacceptable but is in fragrant violation of the law,” Ngobeni said.

ActionSA said the use of armed SANDF personnel at a civilian protest raises alarm about the militarisation of public order policing and disregard for constitutional safeguards.

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“The citizens of South Africa have every right to protest peacefully without intimidation from soldiers whose employment is meant for the defence of the republic and not the suppression of democratic dissent,” Ngobeni wrote.

The Citizen has sent questions to the SANDF asking for clarity regarding the SANDF’s deployment at the protest, and the article will be updated should the department respond.

SANDF not deployed at march – MP Cameron

In the meantime, the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, said authorities did not deploy the SANDF at the march.

“SANDF members were travelling along R56 near a garage where Saps had stopped the crowd passing. The SANDF members had to stop there too and stood off at the gathering until the road was cleared for them to then continue travelling,” Cameron posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Cameron responds to reports that SANDF deployed:

No they were not. Only the president can order such a deployment and it must be in consultation with parliament.

SANDF members were travelling along R56 near garage where SAPS had stopped the crowd passing. The SANDF members had to stop there too and stood off at the gathering… https://t.co/H6H6CuSMhU

— Ian Cameron (@IanCameron23) April 8, 2025