JOHANNESBURG - Months after Operation Prosper was launched, mass killings continue unabated.
Over the weekend, 34 people were killed and almost 30 were wounded in shootings in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
This is in addition to a mass killing in kwaMakhuta in KwaZulu-Natal last week. Willem Els from the Institute for Security Studies says the army is not making the desired impact.
This is not the first time the army has been deployed to help in crime fighting. There was a deployment in 2019, which was not as successful.
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Els says the same strategy is being used at big cost. Their deployment, Els says, could be government's desperation to get ahead of crime.
"It also a bit of pressure from the public and they have this euphoria that the military will solve everything," he says.
The military and army cannot contribute the way they need for a variety of reasons.
About 18 people were killed in a tavern in the in Carltonville on Sunday. Witnesses at the tavern say this is in connection with ongoing wars between zama zamas.
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The army has been deployed to combat illegal mining and gun violence in many communities in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
Police say only four of the deceased have so far been identified. They include two South African nationals and two nationals from Lesotho.
Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni has established a multidisciplinary team to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Operation Prosper has also been deployed to intensify operations in the area as investigators work to establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting and track down the suspects.