SANDF recalls eight soldiers from Congo after allegations of 'sexual exploitation'

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has recalled eight of its soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo due to serious allegations of misconduct, including sexual exploitation or abuse. 

The SANDF said it had received a UN report containing allegations of serious acts of ill-discipline and misconduct by members of the SANDF. 

“It is alleged in the UN report that on Sunday, October 1, eight SANDF soldiers deployed in Beni were apprehended by the UN military police (UN MP) for being in direct breach of the curfew time and other regulations related to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA),” it said. 

The SANDF said it only became aware of the incident through media reports, which it deemed unfortunate. 

“It is unfortunate that the RSA, as a troop contributing country (TCC) was not informed of these allegations as is normal procedure but first learnt about such in the media. The reporting procedure was not followed by the UN because neither the RSA defence adviser nor the RSA UN representative were informed as per the standard operating procedure for all TCCs.”  

Due to the serious nature of the allegations, the soldiers had been recalled and would need to answer to the allegations and give an account of events that had transpired, the SANDF said.

It added national investigating officers had been dispatched to the area to conduct a formal investigation into the allegations. 

“Upon completion of the investigation, the SANDF will pronounce itself.” . 

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