A shop owner from the Vaal, in Gauteng, faces up to five years in jail for selling army fatigue.
Selling army fatigue can get you five years in jail
Whether he knew it or not, the commercial availability of army clothes automatically meant that he was in contravention of the Defence Act of 2002.
Section 5 and 6 of the Act state that:
“Any person who, without authority, possesses or wears prescribed uniforms, distinctive marks or crests, or performs any prohibited act while wearing such uniform or with such uniform, distinctive marks or crests, is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years.”
Therefore, it’s without exaggeration when we suppose that the shop owner may have been shocked when he saw the army police descend on his premises.
In the video that was posted by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) on Thursday morning, the military police were seen piling army trousers, jackets and other articles of army fatigue into boxes.
The SA National Defence Force Military Police arrested a shop owner in the Vaal for the illegal selling of military camouflage. The public is warned not to buy or wear SA National Defence Force camouflage uniform illegally. #sandf#SANDF#SANDFMilitaryPolice pic.twitter.com/ryxFBh8I5W
— SA National Defence Force (@SANDFCorpEvents) November 25, 2020
The identity of the shop owner has been withheld, pending the outcome of his court appearance on charges related to illegal selling of army fatigue.
Tip from SANDF: Just stop buying army clothing
The SANDF has encouraged people to avoid dressing up in military clothing. This, our national defence says, makes it incredibly difficult for army officials to distinguish between civilians and members of the SANDF.
“Members of the public who are illegally in possession of a complete or various items of the SANDF camouflage uniform, are urged and encouraged to return the uniform items to their nearest SANDF base or unit,” army spokesperson Brigadier Masi Mgobozi said in a 2017 IOL article of the same nature.