Some ‘military vets’ in Lesufi’s crime prevention warden programme don’t quite qualify, say insiders

29 Aug 2024

Military veterans tasked with combating crime in Gauteng have completed their first phase of training, amid accusations that some veterans misrepresented their credentials. Some troubling details have come to light about vetting processes and authenticity concerns, and the likely presence of non-veteran participants.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi addressed a pass-out parade at Dunnottar Military Base in Nigel, City of Ekurhuleni, on 29 August 2024, with a stirring declaration: “We are tired of crime. As I said, you liberated this country, I am sending you back to the second liberation, to defend our people, to restore order, but most importantly, to send a very strong signal that you have arrived and no one can stop us.”

Lesufi’s words were directed at the military veterans who had completed the first phase of their training as Crime Prevention Wardens. They will eventually join the Gauteng Traffic Wardens, tasked with combating crime and lawlessness in the province.

In April 2024, Lesufi announced that 2,500 military veterans would receive training, labelling them “the generation that will end lawlessness in our province”. The military veterans would undergo “rigorous” training from the South African National Defence Force, and other law enforcement agencies, aimed at strengthening their ability to combat crime, corruption and lawlessness in the province.

Read more: Gauteng’s Crime Prevention Wardens were set up unlawfully, risk abuse of police powers – experts

But troubling concerns have emerged about the integrity of the veteran recruitment process, alleging widespread corruption and misrepresentation, with allegations that many individuals who claimed to be veterans lack genuine military backgrounds.

Qualified veteran’s thwarted attempts

Daily Maverick spoke with an uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) veteran who attempted to apply for the programme. The veteran, requesting anonymity for safety reasons, has a background in crime prevention policy development, and was a crime prevention section leader in the Military Police from 1994 to 1996.

“In late February, a notification was issued inviting military veterans from various regions to apply. Those of us in Ekurhuleni were called to Germiston. We were instructed to bring our ID, military veteran certificates and qualifications. When I arrived, I realised the process had already started elsewhere,” the veteran said.

He noted that the list of applicants included veterans from various formations such as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA) and MK.

“I checked the list and saw that my name was not there. Veterans from Palm Ridge, including about 50 verified veterans at Germiston, were also told they were not on the list,” he added.

The veteran discovered that some individuals on the list were from his own township but were not genuine veterans.

“These individuals, who identify as self-defence units (SDUs), are not recognised by the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) and lack the necessary documentation. They are only endorsed by MK,” he explained.

Questioned discrepancy

When he questioned this discrepancy, he was directed to speak with an HR official, who asked him to compile a list of veterans and provided Z83 application forms, the application form for government jobs. Two weeks later, selected veterans were called to the Department of Community Safety’s head office to capture their fingerprints.

“I called an office contact to inquire about my registration, but was told I was not on their list, and the call ended abruptly,” he said.

The HR department later informed him that despite having submitted all necessary documentation, he was not called for the next steps due to an alleged lack of documentation. He eventually had his fingerprints captured and was told he would be contacted for medical check-ups to continue with the programme.

“It is really upsetting and I want people to know that it is not us the veterans that are in the wrong. Someone made an invitation for us to join the programme, then we responded to the invite. But when we responded, we found that already the process of formulation of the list was not done in a proper way,” he claimed.

Uniforms issued, contracts signed

In mid-April, while veterans awaited medical check-ups, Lesufi held a meeting in Randburg.

“When we arrived there, they gave us uniforms, the green ones; they gave us T-shirts and the caps. It was just green, green, green… Everybody was in green. It was around election time and you could see it was now election machinery,” said the veteran.

During this meeting, Lesufi allegedly instructed that all verified military veterans should visit their regional offices to sign up for training, irrespective of their formations, and if they had completed fingerprint capturing.

“In Benoni, we had to go to the transport regional office. We were asked for our tax clearance, qualifications and certified IDs, then signed contracts. The contracts were signed before the medical check-ups and they told us not to put dates,” said the veteran.

In June, the Gauteng Department of Community Safety announced that the training of the military veterans as Gauteng Traffic Wardens had commenced.

For the anonymous veteran, the situation has been marked by silence and frustration. He never heard back from the department after signing his contracts.

“I hear from other people that I am blacklisted for some odd reason, despite my qualifications. I’m not the only one being isolated. There are a number of actual military veterans going through this. Like my neighbour, he is from APLA and he applied but was not called,” he said.

“There are whispers out there and complaints that people who are not military veterans, these jobs were sold to them. They are going to report to say ‘military veterans are now part of this programme’. But in reality, we are not, these are not military veterans.”

Lesufi’s office has denied claims that some of the new recruits are not legitimate military veterans.

Inside the training camp: Veteran revelations

Daily Maverick also spoke to a military veteran who was released from training at the Potchefstroom base in August. The veteran, who struggles with substance abuse and has two serious injuries — one on his knee and another on his elbow, from the struggle — was selected for the trainee programme.

He explained that veterans were instructed to sign up for the initiative regardless of any ailments, with assurances that their conditions would be accommodated. He had undergone a medical evaluation in Johannesburg before the training began.

“When I was there, I informed them about my knee and elbow issues and requested they take these into consideration. They advised me to see a doctor, who confirmed my injuries and recommended that I be on light duty,” said the veteran, who asked not to be named.

“The doctor wrote a letter stating that I couldn’t run but could participate in light drills.”

The veteran said his situation was not unique, alleging that there were other individuals in the training camp also not in top health, and not doing the physical drills, but likely still graduating.

Despite his medical condition, the veteran was still expected to run and perform heavy-duty tasks during training, which started in May, leading to him being labelled as defiant.

“The training in Potchefstroom was heavily focused on physical drills. We did a lot of physical exercises, but there were also classes on first aid, crime control and riot management, and a brief overview of the Criminal Procedure Act. However, the focus was primarily on the drills, and they mentioned that there would be a later assessment to determine who was fit for specific roles,” he said.

The veteran also noted concerns about the legitimacy of some participants.

“There were individuals who were not veterans. Some even told me ‘I’m a beneficiary’; ‘I’m an SDU’. People with hidden agendas were coming with their own members claiming they are veterans,” he added.

Premier’s office responds

Sizwe Pamla, spokesperson for Lesufi, stated that a total of 1,557 military veterans were selected to become Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens through a recruitment process that involved a job advertisement and applications submitted using the Z83 form, along with the required documentation.

Pamla explained that the verification process included pre-screening of applicants, endorsement letters from the DMV, and validation through affiliated formation coordinators.

This process involved checking against the DMV database, and was managed by the Department of Community Safety’s HR for recruitment, and the Department of Defence for training. Lists of eligible veterans were compiled from a central database and verified through military veterans’ formations.

Pamla denied that contracts were signed before medical evaluations were completed, and noted that discrepancies, such as the exclusion of veterans with valid documentation, had not been reported to the department.

“We have not received any information on discrepancies and are thus unable to respond to such claims. If issues do arise, each case will be addressed on its merits, keeping in mind that recruitment and training have specific periods and deadlines,” said Pamla.

Controversial crimebuster history

Lesufi first announced the creation of a new cadre of crimebusters in his inaugural State of the Province address in February 2023, as part of his revamped anti-crime strategy.

In his address, Lesufi committed to training 6,000 Crime Prevention Wardens — young men and women to monitor and police Gauteng 24 hours a day. The initiative was met with scepticism and questions from political parties, independent policing consultants and civil rights organisations regarding their legality, and the process had since been marred by irregularities.

There has been no significant change in safety levels in Gauteng since the introduction of the wardens, but there have been reports of abuses of power by them. In August 2023, Daily Maverick reported on an incident in which a young man was brutally attacked in his home in Katlehong, allegedly by a group of wardens, and beaten almost to death.

Read more: ‘They started beating me, kicking me’ – Lesufi’s Gauteng crime prevention wardens accused of brutal assault

In December 2023, the wardens, colloquially known as amaPanyaza, were granted full police powers by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, despite irregularities and complaints. In February 2024, the wardens started training under the supervision of the South African National Defence Force, a decision that sparked concern from an expert on justice and violence prevention.

In June 2024, a warden highlighted substandard training, inadequate benefits and dangerous working conditions, alleging that contract renewals were delayed until after the elections to sway votes. DM

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