Fighters must get ready to join protests if army is deployed, Malema says

The Economic Freedom Fighters will “officially” join in the ongoing violent protests if army is deployed to assist in law enforcement.

This was announced on Twitter by party leader Julius Malema on Monday.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has since confirmed that troops will be deployed to KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, with reports coming in of troops already being deployed on the streets in Pietermaritzburg. 

Malema took to Twitter immediately to condemn army deployment, saying that the situation could only be resolved politically.

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“No soldiers on our streets! Otherwise, we are joining. All fighters must be ready… they won’t kill us all. We need a political solution to a political problem, not soldiers,” reads Malema’s tweet.

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJOINTS) was said to have requested assistance from the SANDF to assist police in Gauteng and KZN “to quell the unrest that has gripped both provinces in the last few days”. 

The army said as soon as all deployment processes were in place, soldiers would attend to the intense unrest, although details surrounding the deployment are still sketchy.

On Monday the South African Police Service (Saps) had announced that it had arrested more than 200 people in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal as the violent protests gain momentum.

Saps spokesperson Colonel Brenda Muridili said the NatJOINTS has intensified deployments in all the areas in both provinces affected by the violent protests, which has since left six people dead.

“The NatJOINTS is receiving Intelligence support from its Intelligence Coordinating Committee comprising of Saps Crime Intelligence, Defence Intelligence as well as State Security Intelligence, to enable law enforcement to counter these sporadic violent protests,” reads the statement.