The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has told parliamentarians that it is not answerable to them but to their commander-in-chief, the country’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa.

SANDF’s chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Lindile Yam made the remarks when he appeared before the Joint Standing Committee on Defence on Wednesday. He said:

You’re not our clients. We are not the police. We take instructions from the commander-in-chief.

Yam’s remarks follow media reports of military brutality against citizens accused of violating lockdown restrictions.

The country’s Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula acknowledged that the department is aware of the allegations.

She, however, said some of the things distributed on social media were not necessarily things that happened during the lockdown.

A citizen, Collins Khosa was allegedly beaten to death by SANDF members on Good Friday and the case is before the country’s Constitutional Court.