The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is calling for improved security at South African military bases following the use of ‘military grade incendiary devices’ at Fort Hare University, which caused significant damage during recent protests.
The EFF’s Carl Niehaus earlier this month condemned the “devastating events that unfolded at the University of Fort Hare, where a significant portion of the institution was reduced to ruins through what appears to be a deliberate and coordinated act of sabotage involving military grade incendiary devices.”
He said this was not an isolated incident but a “stark manifestation of the deepening crisis in our nation’s security apparatus and the failures of institutional leadership,” and questioned the origin of the incendiary devices and flares used in the protests.
“The EFF has for a long time now warned that the security at SANDF military bases where arms, and military equipment — such as was seen in use at Fort Hare — are stored has collapsed, and is in some instances non-existent, with perimeter fences in disrepair, or simply gone. Corruption is rife, and the selling and pilfering of military equipment at some bases are a regular occurrence.”
Recently, on 2 October at 6 South African Infantry (SAI) Battalion base in Makhanda (Grahamstown), also in the Eastern Cape, a mortar bomb blew up and killed a man who was trespassing. “He was evidently collecting easily accessible arms. This explosion came three years after a 33-year-old local man was injured after a hand grenade went off at the Carini squatter camp — a hand grenade that was also stolen from the very same military base,” Niehaus said. “Evidently the collapse of security and wanton corruption and collapse of the South African National Defence Force is now threatening our national security and internal stability.”
He said that what happened at Fort Hare University means South Africa’s intelligence structures will have to shape up drastically, and the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence will have to intensify oversight responsibilities and visits to military bases.
“The EFF reiterates that it is critical that the lack of security and collapse of security at military bases where arms and military hardware are being stored needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency,” the party said, and called for an immediate audit of all SANDF bases.
“Furthermore, the parliamentary oversight role of the Joint Standing Committee on Defence and the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans must be strengthened without delay. These bodies have been too passive, allowing bureaucratic inertia and political complacency to erode their effectiveness. The EFF proposes mandatory quarterly inspections, unannounced visits, and the inclusion of civil society representatives in oversight processes to ensure transparency and accountability.
“There must also be a concerted collaboration with intelligence structures in South Africa, including the State Security Agency and other relevant bodies, to intelligence-gather on arms trafficking networks. This partnership should extend to real-time monitoring and joint operations to secure military installations. Without such integrated efforts, we risk further escalations where our universities, hospitals, and public infrastructure become battlegrounds for shadowy forces,” Niehaus concluded.
