PAGAD rejects joint drills between US Marines and City of Cape Town metro police cadets

People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (PAGAD) says the involvement of US military personnel in Cape Town poses a threat to South Africa’s sovereignty.

The organisation was reacting to a recent joint fitness drill between the city's metro police cadets and members of the US Marines at Muizenberg Beach.

The exercise has drawn criticism, although the municipality maintains it was simply a fitness activity aimed at improving policing skills.

Safety and Security MMC JP Smith said the interaction was informal, limited in scope, and cost-free, as the US Marines are based at their consulate in Cape Town.

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However, PAGAD has rejected these claims, arguing that such explanations echo language historically used to justify foreign influence.

PAGAD spokesperson Fairouz Nagia said there is no such thing as a neutral US military presence on African soil and has called on government and civil society to block any further cooperation.

"We want those role players who should have a stake in this, the South African National Defence Force, International Relations, and SAPS national, to be involved in this. We need accountability for our rights as citizens to be democratically informed and to participate in decisions of such magnitude. There needs to be accountability for violations along those lines."

Howevr, Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, has played down criticism of a joint fitness drill.

Several political and civil society organisations have raised concerns about the nature of the engagement, questioning its purpose, transparency, and broader implications.

Smith insists the engagement was simply a fitness exercise, offering officers an opportunity to experience marine-style training drills.

"The engagement with the Marines was an informal arrangement where staff could measure their fitness standards against those of another entity. It was not a formal training engagement, and there was no cost involved to the City as the Marines are based in Cape Town, at their Consulate," said Smith.

The GOOD Party’s Jonathan Cupido said the matter cannot be dismissed as a simple fitness session, as it raises serious legal, governance, and accountability concerns.

"Municipal policing in South Africa is not a free-for-all. The Constitution is clear that municipal police services must operate within a national legislative framework, and the South African Police Service Act makes it equally clear that the National Commissioner determines the standards and training applicable to municipal police. The City does not have the authority to improvise training arrangements outside of that framework," said Cupido

Eyewitness News has contacted DIRCO for clarity on whether the exercise aligns with South Africa’s foreign policy positions and diplomatic protocols.