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Motshekga says 510 soldiers went to KZN almost overnight

Published

Defence Minister Angie Motshekga told Parliament's defence committee on Friday that the deployment was an emergency. The soldiers will stay in KwaZulu-Natal until the end of November at a cost of R34 million.

Motshekga briefed the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on a letter from President Cyril Ramaphosa that authorised the deployment. She said the situation required quick action after the Constitutional Court judgment on asylum seekers and protests. She said Parliament still had to be informed.

Committee members asked why Parliament received the letter only the week before. Motshekga said she had to act fast once the request came in.

She said: "When we got the request as an emergency, I had to call the Chief of Defence to get joint operations to prepare our people overnight." The Defence Force said a "misinterpretation" of the asylum seeker ruling risked spreading the protests to the rest of the country.

Key facts

Who
Angie Motshekga (Defence Minister); Cyril Ramaphosa (President); South African National Defence Force (deploying force, 510 members sent to KZN); Joint Standing Committee on Defence (parliamentary committee briefed by Motshekga)
What
Motshekga briefed Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Defence on President Cyril Ramaphosa's letter authorising the deployment of 510 soldiers to KwaZulu-Natal until the end of November at a cost of R34 million. She said the deployment was an emergency but the legislature still had to be informed, and committee members questioned why Parliament received the letter only the week before.
When
30 October 2026
Where
KwaZulu-Natal, Durban
Status
Reported

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