The SANDF Weapon Thefts Are No Accident – They Are Proof of a Defence Force in Free Fall

As a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters and someone who has walked the grounds of our military bases, I write this with a mixture of rage and profound sadness. On Monday April 27, 2026 – just three days ago – thieves once again walked into the Tek Base in Lyttelton, part of the Thaba Tshwane military precinct, and stole three R4 assault rifles and two 40mm multiple grenade launchers. This is not some distant historical footnote. This is happening right now, in the heart of our country’s largest military establishment, under the watch of the ANC-led Government of National Unity. And it is the latest, most brazen chapter in a story I have been warning about for years.

Let me be clear from the outset: these thefts are deeply disconcerting. They are not isolated incidents of bad luck or simple negligence. They are the visible symptoms of the total collapse of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF). Weapons that should be protecting the sovereignty of our nation are instead disappearing into the hands of criminals, gangsters and enemies of the state. In a country already ravaged by record levels of violent crime, gangsterism, farm murders, cash-in-transit heists and daily killings that have turned townships, rural areas and even urban centres into war zones, every stolen military rifle or grenade launcher becomes another instrument of terror on our streets. The theft must be taken very seriously in this context of high levels of crime and violent abuse. These are not just missing inventory items; they are fuel for the very instability the SANDF exists to prevent.

The pattern is damning. In 2016, Uzi machine guns, an R1 rifle, ammunition and hand grenades vanished from the supposedly secure national key point armament depot at the SA Navy base in Simon’s Town over a single weekend. Military experts at the time openly admitted that security was either not up to standard or the crime involved an inside job. The Hawks were called in, yet no meaningful arrests followed. Between the 2019/20 financial year and December 2023, the situation deteriorated further: 39 weapons were stolen and another 12 reported lost across various SANDF units. These were predominantly R4 and R1 assault rifles and 9mm pistols, accompanied by large quantities of ammunition. The thefts hit bases including the SA Army Engineering Formation, 21 SAI Battalion, Tshwane Regiment, 4 Artillery Regiment in Potchefstroom and Air Force Base Makhado.

But the most alarming incidents have repeatedly struck at the very heart of the SANDF in Tshwane. In December 2019, 18 R4 assault rifles and two 9mm pistols were brazenly stolen from the SA Army Engineering Formation’s Tek Base in Lyttelton – the same precinct where the latest theft occurred. Twelve SANDF members were arrested, exposing clear insider involvement. In the 2020/21 financial year, another nine assault rifles disappeared from the Tshwane Regiment. And now, on 27 April 2026, the cycle repeats with three more R4 rifles and two grenade launchers taken from the identical Tek Base. These are not peripheral failures. They are happening in one of the SANDF’s most important operational hubs, metres from senior command structures, under the noses of the very people who are supposed to be safeguarding our national security.

I have personally raised serious concerns about exactly this after multiple oversight visits to Thaba Tshwane. I have walked through the crumbling “Brown Flats” where soldiers and their families are forced to live. The conditions are appalling: leaking roofs that turn living rooms into swamps during every rain, faulty plumbing that causes constant flooding and sewage backups, hazardous electrical wiring that poses a constant risk of fire and electrocution, broken toilets and showers that no longer function, and unsanitary conditions that breed disease and despair. These are not minor inconveniences. They are life-threatening degradations inflicted on the very men and women we ask to defend our country.

During those visits I stood in those dilapidated rooms and warned, in the clearest possible terms, that this awful neglect and mismanagement would inevitably lead to serious security problems. When soldiers are treated with such contempt – when their living quarters are allowed to rot while billions are wasted elsewhere – morale collapses, discipline erodes and the door swings open to internal collusion. I said then, and I repeat now: you cannot expect loyalty and vigilance from people whose own families are housed in slums. The latest theft from the very same Thaba Tshwane precinct where these conditions persist is no coincidence. It is the direct, predictable result of the rot I have been exposing for years. The link between the terrible living conditions and the weapon thefts is undeniable.

This is precisely what the EFF has warned about for over a decade. Long before these latest incidents, we highlighted in Parliament, in public statements and through our revolutionary programmes the chronic underfunding, cadre deployment, politicisation of senior appointments, sale-off of strategic assets, failure to maintain equipment and infrastructure, and the dangerous erosion of morale among rank-and-file soldiers. We pointed out that armouries were poorly secured, inventories were not properly audited, and that the SANDF was simply not battle-ready or even theft-proof. Our warnings were dismissed as alarmist. Today, the chickens have come home to roost in the most dangerous way possible. The brazen robberies – especially the most recent one on 27 April 2026 – are living proof that the EFF was right all along.

This is a serious wake-up call for the entire nation. South Africa cannot claim to be a sovereign state while its defence force cannot even safeguard its own weapons. In a region still plagued by instability, with criminal syndicates now operating with military-grade firepower, the collapse of the SANDF poses an existential threat to public safety, border integrity and regional stability. How can we expect our soldiers to defend the country when their own bases are being looted from within and their living quarters are falling apart around them? How can any citizen feel safe when Uzis, R4 rifles and hand grenades are allowed to fall into criminal hands while ordinary people bear the deadly consequences every single day?

The ANC-led Government of National Unity must bear full responsibility. Years of cadre deployment, budget slashing, corruption scandals and deliberate neglect have produced this moment. The Minister of Defence has spoken of “preventive measures” such as clearing perimeter vegetation, installing alarms and conducting crime risk surveys since 2018, yet the thefts continue unabated. This is not mere incompetence; it is the logical outcome of a government that prioritises self-enrichment and political survival over national security.

The time for half-measures and empty promises is over. The collapse of the SANDF is a national emergency. The government, and specifically the President as Commander in Chief, and the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans must act decisively now to halt this rot. An independent, high-level commission of inquiry – completely free from ANC interference – must be established without delay to investigate every single theft, identify the culprits (including insiders) and hold them accountable to the full extent of the law. All SANDF armouries and depots must undergo immediate forensic audits. Enhanced physical security, 24-hour armed patrols, modern surveillance systems and zero-tolerance disciplinary measures must be implemented at once. The Minister of Defence and all senior commanders who have failed in their duties must be removed from office forthwith.

Parliament’s two Defence Committees, the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, must summon SANDF leadership for urgent hearings. The media and civil society should apply maximum pressure so that this crisis is not swept under the carpet as previous scandals have been. The EFF will continue to champion the radical overhaul of the SANDF as part of our broader programme of economic freedom and total liberation. We will not rest until our defence force is restored to its rightful place as a professional, well-equipped and accountable institution capable of defending the sovereignty and dignity of our people.

South Africans deserve better. Our soldiers deserve better. The latest theft on 27 April 2026 must be the final straw.

* Ambassador Carl Niehaus is an EFF Member of Parliament (MP). He is the permanent representative the EFF on the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans, and the Jojnt Standing Committee on Defence.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.