No talks to deploy more soldiers to DRC after nine killed

South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers wounded in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week suffered no life-threatening wounds and there has been no discussion about deploying more troops.

Nine SANDF members were killed in two days of fierce fighting with M23 rebels in Goma, eastern DRC, last week. Seven were members of the South African contingent deployed in December 2023 as part of the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) Mission (SAMIDRC) and two were members of the UN Organised Stabilisation Mission.  

The number of wounded is yet to be confirmed, but SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said they were taken to the local SAMIDRC level 3 hospital for treatment.

“There are no talks about deploying more troops in Goma thus far. The matter of supporting our troops has been at the top of the agenda. However, it must also be noted that other Sadc countries have been contributing to this mission one way or another as this is not a South African mission only but a regional mission,” he said.

Dlamini said the names of the deceased could not yet be released.

“We do not give names of the deceased members until their families have been informed and their remains are back in the country.”

However, one of the deceased was Louis Calvin Moagi, 28, from Morareleng village in Ga-Sekororo, outside Tzaneen, Limpopo.

Tributes have been pouring in on social media for Moagi, who joined the SANDF in 2018 and was seemingly a father to a girl and an Orlando Pirates fan.

One of his last texts to a friend was also shared on social media, where Moagi admitted it was not safe but would return next year.

In an interview with SAFM on Monday, family spokesperson Monageng Moagi said the soldier had previously been deployed in Mozambique between 2022 and 2023 and this time they thought he would return home again.

Monageng said Moagi did not want to give his family any reason to fear he might not return from the DRC.

“He took it as a man and continued, though we knew, as a family, he was going into a difficult situation,” he said.

Monageng said the soldier had wanted to be part of the SANDF from a young age and found it interesting to serve his country.

“He will be remembered as a man who fought for the country and Africa in general. He was there as a peacekeeper. He was a humble young man who was active and a hard worker.”

The family is yet to find out the exact details and cause of death as they were informed of his passing only on Friday night.

“We didn’t get full details of what happened. We were just told he passed on but how it happened, we don’t know. We haven’t got any news about that. We are still hoping we can get a clearer picture of what happened,” he said.

“The concern is that our children are sent to the DRC. Things are not in our control and there isn’t much we can do but feel sorry for all the others and [send] condolences to all the other family members as well,” he said.

According to the Giyani View newspaper social media, another dead soldier was Derrick Maluleke from Ka-Hlaneki, Giyani, also in Limpopo.

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