Issued by: Ministry for Safety and Security
MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF SAFETY AND SECURITY, MR SYDNEY MUFAMADI, ISSUED ON 5 AUGUST 1996, CAPE TOWN.
A draft Bill, containing measures which will prohibit the para-military training of individuals or groups, will soon be placed before Cabinet for its approval. The Ministry of Safety and Security has requested the Minister of Justice to include these provisions into the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill, a Bill which the Department of Justice will be sponsoring.
Allegations of para-military training being conducted by various groups in South Africa have featured regularly in the media for a long time. This includes reports of the para-military training of right wing groups, in Inkatha aligned Self Protection Units, of ANC aligned Self Defence Units, of fundamentalist religious groups and of other political factions. Existing legislation has been inadequate to address such unauthorized para-military training.
The proposed legislation, if approved by Cabinet and Parliament, will prohibit:
- the instruction or training in the making or use of firearms or explosives; - the training, organisation or equipping of persons in order for them to use or display physical force in promoting a political objective; - the training of any person in the conduct of any military or para-military operation.
The conduct which the draft Bill targets will not be unlawful or prohibited if it is performed in terms of lawful authority which has been granted or if it is performed or certain industrial, agricultural or sporting purposes.
The new constitution provides that the National Defence Force shall be the only defence force for the whole of South Africa. There can therefore be no justification for the existence of any armed organisations, para-military groups or factions that receive clandestine para-military training. Illegal firearms continue to find a market through the para-military training and equipping of various groups.
If the Bill is passed by Parliament, the police will be directed the act firmly against any persons or groups who are found to be involved in para-military training. There should be no space for private armies or armed vigilante groups in a constitutional democracy.
Enquiries: Mulalo Maxwell Muladzi 082 373 2005