Ramaphosa and his government must be held fully responsible and accountable for SANDF deaths, says analyst

Ramaphosa and his government must be held fully responsible and accountable for SANDF deaths, says analyst

Six SANDF have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since deployed in February this year.

Two soldiers were killed in a mortar attack on South Africa’s base on Tuesday in Sake, in the Eastern DRC.

SANDF confirmed the tragic incident on Wednesday.

“The SANDF confirms the mortar attack on one of our bases in Sake, in the Eastern DRC on 25 June 2024, which resulted in two fatalities and 20 injured. Four members who were critically injured have been hospitalised, whilst the rest who suffered minor injuries are expected to be discharged soon,” said SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini.

Dlamini said families of the two members who lost their lives have been informed and all procedures to bring their mortal remains are in process.

“The names of the deceased will be communicated in due course,” Dlamini said.

Last month, Sergeant Mbulelo David Ngubane, 39, was killed following contact between M23 and SADC forces. Sergeant Ngubane, who was an Operational Medical Practitioner in the South African Military Health Service (SAMHS), was shot and killed when the ambulance in which he was tending to injured members was attacked.

Ex-shadow Minister of Defence and independent defence analyst, Kobus Marais, said the latest deaths of soldiers in the DRC come as no surprise.

“This was anticipated in the light of the poor support and resources to our deployed soldiers as part of the SADC’s SAMIDRC mission. It is now a regular occurrence that our soldiers are returned to their loved ones in body bags. The question remains as to the actual reasons our defence force is still deployed in the DRC. The reasons why the UN and its MONUSCO are withdrawing from the DRC after 20 years is well known,” said Marais.

He further said: “Up to now, we’ve been refunded on a yearly basis to the UN, while our involvement with the SADC SAMIDRC mission is unfunded and not budgeted for. Every rand spent will contribute to the further spiralling down of our defence capabilities.”

Marais said there seems to be no strategic national interest why the country should be deployed in the eastern DRC, and no real threat to the national security and safety of the country and the people.

“In order to save the lives of our soldiers the president and the SANDF have two options (1) Provide more funding and resources and logistical support to our soldiers, including ammunition and prime mission equipment and more soldiers. This is unfortunately not affordable and sustainable given the weak GDP and lower defence budget. (2) The alternative is to initiate AU and EAC peace talks for a permanent solution to the eastern DRC conflicts while withdrawing all our soldiers and equipment from the DRC.

“This conflict is not a South African responsibility, the AU and EAC must work with the DRC and its neighbours in finding a lasting solution. Marais said the primary responsibility and task of the SANDF must be to protect South African land and maritime borders from evil and disingenuous forces.

“There are real threats on our land and sea borders, as well as from Mozambique, which must be the primary tasks of the SANDF. If the president, his GNU, and the minister of defence will not put the interests of South Africa and our soldiers First, we must expect more unnecessary deaths of our soldiers. In this case the president and his government must be held fully responsible and accountable for their deaths.

“Let the AU, EAC, DRC, and their immediate neighbours take full responsibility for the safety and peace in their region, and not South Africa,” he said.

Ramaphosa deployed at least 2 900 members of the SANDF to assist in the fight against illegal armed groups in the eastern DRC, a move some political parties, such as DA, has criticised.

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, was reached for a contact on Wednesday, but at the time of publication, he had failed to comment about the latest deaths.

South African National Defence Union (Sandu) spokesperson Pikkie Greeff said on Wednesday: “Sandu expresses its condolences to the families of the soldiers who passed and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured/ wounded. Soldiering is inherently dangerous as is underscored by these losses. Sandu continues to call for full air support for our deployed forces in DRC which will at the very least play a significant role in defending against and deterring the rebel groups.”

The Star