South Africa has launched one of its largest domestic security operations in recent years, deploying 13,000 law enforcement officers, drones, helicopters and more than 33,000 CCTV cameras across Gauteng Province ahead of anti-migrant demonstrations, as authorities seek to prevent a repeat of the deadly unrest that crippled Africa’s most industrialised economy in 2021.
The operation, which Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said will cost about R600 million ($35.5 million), comes amid mounting concerns that protests organised by anti-illegal immigration group March and March could descend into violence despite government warnings that criminal acts will not be tolerated.
Businesses, freight operators and shopping centre owners have also stepped up contingency plans ahead of the demonstrations, fearing disruptions in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, the country’s three biggest economic regions.
Some logistics companies have reviewed delivery schedules while retailers have strengthened security around commercial centres.
The security operation illustrates how South Africa’s policing strategy has evolved since the July 2021 riots, when widespread looting and arson left more than 350 people dead, disrupted supply chains, damaged thousands of businesses and inflicted an estimated R50 billion (about $3 billion) in economic losses, making it one of the costliest episodes of civil unrest in the country’s democratic history.
