Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans chairperson, Dakota Legoete, delivered the stark assessment during a Peace and Security Cluster media briefing, describing the scale of violence as a direct threat to the country’s sovereignty.

“We are at a point where over 26 000 South Africans have died in a year at the hands of the criminal element,” Legoete said.

“These numbers are comparable to those in conflict zones such as Gaza, Ukraine, yet in our country, we normalise it.”

He argued that the scale of killings effectively places South Africa in a “war-like” situation, even though it is not formally at war, and said the burden can no longer be carried by police alone.

“That is why we support the President’s initiative to deploy the SANDF to collaborate and cooperate with the SAPS in fighting crime,” he said, stressing that criminals are increasingly well-armed and organised.

But lawmakers cautioned that the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is, at best, a short-term stabilisation measure.

Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, warned that the intervention risks masking deeper systemic failures.

“While such deployment may provide a necessary force multiplier, a military deployment is not a long-term solution,” Cameron said.

“There is a real risk that it becomes a temporary measure, a plaster on a wound that requires surgery.”

Cameron linked the death toll to lived realities in communities, citing ongoing violence in areas such as the Cape Flats, where extortion, gang activity and shootings continue to claim lives.

“These are not just statistics. These are lives lost, families devastated and communities traumatised,” he said.

Chairperson of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, Piroane Phala, said Parliament had intensified oversight of the SANDF deployment to ensure it is properly coordinated and legally compliant.

“The SANDF deployment serves as an important force multiplier,” Phala said, adding that lawmakers had raised concerns about initial “lack of clarity and alignment” between the military and police, including command structures and operational readiness.

While those issues have begun to improve, Phala emphasised that long-term solutions must go beyond security interventions.

“It is equally important that clear exit strategies are developed and that the long-term response to crime also includes stronger socio-economic interventions,” he said.

Legoete further warned that criminal networks are being sustained by failures in regulation and enforcement, including the diversion of firearms from licensed security companies into illegal activities.

“This creates a situation in which ordinary citizens are forced to pay protection fees while also paying taxes to fund the very institutions meant to protect them. This cannot continue,” he said.

Across the three committees, there was consensus that the country’s high murder rate reflects deeper structural problems, from weak intelligence coordination and porous borders to limited prosecution of high-level criminals.

“Defence and security are not optional,” Legoete said. “No defence and security means no safety for citizens.”