The SANDF and SAPS in Tafelsig, Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, during Operation Prosper on 1 April 2026. The soldiers are bolstering police actions in an effort to clamp down on gangsterism. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach) A hole in a perimeter fence and a forced-open gate indicate how criminals accessed weapons in yet another burglary at a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) premises.
The break-in occurred at a storeroom at Tak Base in the Lyttelton Military Base in Pretoria, and was discovered about a week ago, on Monday, 27 April 2026.
The SANDF provided details about the burglary a few days later.
It is not the first theft at that base, and the incident now adds to a string of other SANDF burglaries.
The latest case has happened while the SANDF has been deployed to various provinces around the country, in keeping with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s vow during his State of the Nation Address earlier this year.
The overall operation, to crack down on violent crimes, will apparently cost more than R800-million and is expected to run until April next year.
R4 rifles and grenade launcher stolen
According to a SANDF statement on last week’s burglary, a member returning from a funeral realised that the storeroom had been targeted.
“The burglar door had been forcefully opened and preliminary findings indicate that [three] R4 rifles and a grenade launcher were stolen,” the statement said.
“It is suspected that access to the premises was gained by cutting a hole in the perimeter fence and […] empty SANDF equipment boxes were discovered in the nearby bushes.”
An investigation into the theft has been initiated, and the SANDF is assessing if other items were stolen.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_603844_552934.jpg "The army conducts joint patrols and operations with the SAPS in Overcome Heights, Cape Town, on 13 April 2026 as part of the year-long Operation Prosper. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)")
On Sunday, 3 May 2026, SANDF spokesperson Brigadier General Selinah Rawlins had no update on the case.
Meanwhile, Parliament’s Defence and Military Veterans committee chair Dakota Legoete said that the stolen weapons needed to be urgently traced.
“Those responsible must be held accountable in terms of our justice system; should they be civilians, and should they be members of the armed forces, they must face the military courts,” he said.
The previous burglary at the Lyttelton Military Base occurred at the end of 2019 and involved an intense investigation that put several army members under scrutiny.
Cellphones seized and CCTV analysed
A SANDF presentation to Parliament on that burglary said that on 23 December 2019, it was discovered that 18 R4 rifles, along with three 9mm pistols, had been stolen from the SA Army Engineering Formation at the Lyttelton base.
That case appeared to be an inside job.
Twenty-seven SA Army Engineering Formation members were questioned, and of those, 12 were initially “charged for housebreaking and theft, alternatively, negligent loss of firearms”. That number later fell.
Cellphones were confiscated and CCTV footage was analysed as part of that investigation.
According to the SANDF parliamentary presentation, a defence force member subsequently confessed to the theft and an accomplice admitted involvement.
The case also led to the discovery of a Department of Education official with an R4 rifle. All 18 stolen rifles were eventually recovered – some were found in an abandoned building in Ekurhuleni.
Perimeter fence problems
Answers to parliamentary questions last year highlighted more security issues at SANDF bases.
Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga had detailed to Parliament what was being done to “address the security breaches” at the Wallmansthal Military Base in Gauteng, and 93 Ammunition Depot in the Northern Cape.
#JointOperationsDivision Article || "There is no fence!": Op CORONA Deployed Members Sound Alarm that Lack of a Physical Barrier Along Some Parts of the Land Border Compromises the Country's Security.https://t.co/vLhXt82HG9#SANDF#JointOperationsNorthWest#OperationCORONA pic.twitter.com/GLuudghEPr
— SA National Defence Force 🇿🇦 (@SANDF_ZA) April 28, 2026
“We have initiated a comprehensive upgrade of all perimeter fencing and replacing all collapsed sections with anti-climb mesh and razor-wire topping and contracted the installation of motion sensors and biometric access controls,” she said.
Motshekga continued: “The Department has reinforced physical security by intensifying guard duties utilising Reserve Force members to fill gaps created by budget constraints and by launching a perimeter-fencing project, thereby enhancing the protection of valuable military assets.”
Cases date back decades
In 2017, robbers reportedly targeted the 9 South African Infantry Battalion Base in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape, South Africa’s gang violence capital. Rifles and ammunition were stolen.
The previous year, it was reported that the SANDF confirmed a burglary at the SA Navy Armament Depot in Simon’s Town, Western Cape. Military equipment was stolen.
A 2022 Western Cape high court judgment, about a separate case, refers to allegations that army members were involved in selling arms and ammunition to gangsters.
The problems go back much further.
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_603856_262399.jpg "Soldiers and police on patrol in gang-ridden Vrygrond, Cape Town, on 13 April 2026. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)")
In 1998, Parliament heard that the armoury at Tempe Military Base in Bloemfontein had been broken into and “large amounts of ammunition were missing”.
Minutes from that meeting recorded that “it was noticed also that the bars of windows at the store had been sawed into”.
Another incident in 1998 involved two soldiers who were transporting weaponry in a truck that was ambushed on its way from Bloemfontein to the Free State. Weapons and ammunition were stolen. The body of one soldier was discovered, while the other was missing.
Three army members were arrested. It was believed that they belonged to right-wing organisations. DM