COVID-19 and military justice (South Africa)

In response to the North Gauteng High Court's Khosa decision, the South African National Defence Force has issued rules to govern the conduct of its personnel in COVID-19-related law enforcement operations. The respected defenceWeb site writes:

African Defence Review (ADR) director Darren Olivier points out the Notlela code does not mean the national defence force did not previously have a code of conduct.

“The High Court determined a ‘deployment-specific’ code be drawn up in addition to existing rules,” he said.

According to retired SA Army colonel David Peddle, the landward force of the SANDF has “a comprehensive booklet on rules for opening fire and the legal aspects of urban deployments in South Africa”.

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Olivier maintains the guidelines in the Notlela code are not good enough “to meet the intent of the ruling (by Judge [Hans] Fabricius)”.

“They contain errors, still don’t provide sufficient guidance to soldiers in difficult situations and have the appearance of being rushed,” he told defenceWeb adding “further revision is needed”.

It is unclear whether the government will appeal the High Court's decision. It may also ask Judge Fabricius to reconsider or modify the judgment in light of this latest issuance.