Since the first military patrols were sent out onto the streets of the Cape Flats on 1 April to assist the police in combating gang activity, some successes have been reported – but violence persists.

Operation Prosper was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address in February to counter gangsterism and illegal mining. By 28 April, 23 firearms had been confiscated together with 146 rounds of ammunition, as well as a hand grenade. The operation had seen 315 arrests, mostly (191) on drug-related charges. There were also 23 arrests for illegal possession of arms and ammunition, and 41 on suspicion of serious crimes.

Drugs, liquor, and illegal abalone and rock lobster were also seized.

In a statement, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) noted that this was an operation that relied on intelligence, meaning that the SANDF relied on real-time data to enable targeted actions against criminal organisations, such as knowing where and when to conduct raids, to establish cordons, and to institute checkpoints.

The SANDF has described its role as that of a “force multiplier” to assist the police, and not a substitute for it.

However, despite these successes, the death toll in the area continues to rise. News reports noted that, between the time since Operation Prosper was launched on 1 April and 19 April, 170 people had been killed in the area (the average number of people killed in a given month in the area is about 220). Among these were ten children aged between 6 and 14. This does not appear to represent a large decrease in the level of murder prevalent in the area.

The deployment has been controversial, both within the communities and across South Africa. Rampant violence associated with gangsterism and drug, gun, and wildlife trafficking has inflicted severe harm, both in terms of the lives it has taken and the damage to economic and development possibilities. The deployment of the military was hailed by some as a contribution to law enforcement, which was necessary as a deterrent to the gangs – even providing firepower that might be necessary.

Operation Prosper has also seen soldiers deployed to deal with illegal miners, a trade that is often linked to organised crime, and which can take on violent dimensions.

However, critics have charged that such interventions are invariably of doubtful and short-term effectiveness, that soldiers are not trained for law enforcement, and that it represents an ill-considered response to problems that force cannot solve.

The deployment of the military to deal with civilian law enforcement across the world – such as in Northern Ireland during “the Troubles” – is invariably a fraught matter, with the risk that the local population may come to see soldiers as an occupying force.