SAPS Special Task Force Explained
The South Africa Police Service (SAPS) Special Task Force is one of the six divisions of the South Africa Police Service. This division was created to have a sect of police officers capable of handling tactical and high-risk situations.Since creating the SAPS Special Task Force, the unit has successfully performed their duties and responsibilities with so much expertise that they have obtained international recognition.
The SAPS STF is also known as ‘Taakies’ and has its stations in Pretoria, Cape Town, and Durban.Although this tactical unit has had some controversies andalso faced the verbal lashes of the members of the South African public on account of their abuse of authority, they have, no doubt, played a major role in resolving high-risk situations in and outside South Africa.
The SAPS Special Task Force is an ingenious unit of the South Africa Police Service. It was formed in 1976 – out of necessity. Following the deaths of many men of the South Africa Police (SAP) who weredeployed to assist the Zimbabwean security force in protecting the country (known at the time as Rhodesia) against guerrilla attacks in 1967 due to their lack of expertise and proper equipment, a need for a special police task force was realized by two of the survivors – J.J. de Swardt and Sergeant Roelf de Plooy.
These two military veterans started training some South African police officers unofficially with little or no equipment, but they saw the need and were determined to continue.In 1973,the only criteria required for the Israeli team to be a part of the South African Games was good security which the SAP lacked the ability to provide. However, the set of policemen trained by J.J. de Swardt and Sergeant Roelf de Plooy (called ‘Bliksems’)were appointed to secure the Israeli players, which they did to the admiration of the international community.
In 1975, the Israeli embassy was held hostage, and once again, the South African police were unable to handle the situation at this point, it was clear to those in authority (not just J.J. de Swardt and Sergeant Roelf de Plooy) that a special task force was a necessity.In 1976, Lt. Gen. Mike Geldenhuys authorized the creation of a Special Task Force, and ‘Bliksems’ was just perfect for that. After creating a structure for the tactical unit, on the 1st of February 1976, the SAPS Special Task Force (STF) was created.
The duties and responsibilities of the special task force were divided into primary and secondary duties. The primary duties are their core duties and responsibilities which include:
Since 1976, the Special Task Force (STF) of the South African Police Service (SAPS) has successfully carried out both their primary and secondary duties and responsibilities.
What started as unofficial training with very little equipment has grown into one of the countries most trusted security sources.High-profile citizens and companies in and out of South Africa now demandtop-class security from theSpecial Task Force (STF). However, with all their successes, the tactical police unit has not stopped developing its skills.
In 2010, the squad members were sent to the United States to improve their Crisis Response skills.This tactical unit uses military equipment like machine guns, shotguns, grenades, military aircraft and vehicles, sub-machine guns, night vision, pistols, sniper, and assault rifles to carry out their duties.
Like in every sector of society, there will always be bad eggs who abuse their authority and taint the larger group’s good name. These bad eggs are the reason why members of the general public think the police are against them.Similarly, the SAPS Special Task Force (STF) has played a major role in maintaining peace and order in and out of South Africa, but some bad eggs in the squad try to do just the opposite and thwart their main purpose.
In 2012, 34 striking mineworkers lost their lives, and 112 others were injured in what has been described as theMarikana Massacre,regarded as the worst attack of the South Africa Police Service (SAPS) on civilians since the Sharpeville massacre in 1960. The SAPS Special Task Force allegedly carried out the attack, and this was brought to the fore by a SAPS constable, who was part of the SAPS team sent to arrest the workers.
According to the constable who gave this eyewitness account in 2018, a mineworker hiding behind a rock and begging for his life was summarily executed by a member of the STF at close range with a rifle. Furthermore, he saw the SAPS Special Task Force vehicle fully equipped with what looked like a light machine gun at the top of the roof. They were practically shooting live ammunition on helpless mineworkers intending to kill them. He saidwitnessing the incident has caused him so much emotional trauma.
What they had done remained a secret, and they were never held accountable for using sophisticated guns on civilians.To make matters worse, the Police minister at the time, Nathi Mthethwa, and the national police commissioner, General Riah Phiyega, praised the police for a job well done, days after the unfortunate massacre.
In 2020, Matiphandile Sotheni, a police officer who was forced out of the tactical team, claimed that the tactical unit’s head didn’t want him as a part of the squad because he was a representative of a union and always questioned things.He claimed that the unit head oppressed him so much that he had to leave the police force and decided to join a private security agency.
These incidents and so many like them have been met with deafening silence by the authorities with hypocritical suspensions handed here and there (for theMarikana Massacre). Others are left to slide with no repercussion whatsoever.
