Patriotic Alliance leader and sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has called for South Africa to take action against those responsible for the deaths of 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
McKenzie was speaking during a parliamentary debate on the matter on Monday, and said “a war” had been declared by those who killed South African soldiers.
“This is not the time to point fingers, but we've been humiliated and we must teach people when you kill South Africans there are consequences,” he said.
“We are facing high youth unemployment. Let us use this opportunity to call for conscription and bring our young people in to train them. While we train them, let us go and teach [the] M23 [rebels in the DRC] a lesson.”
He urged MPs to lead by example and go fight.
“This is war; people are dying, and you're calling yourselves by titles here. Go and fight. I will be one of the first to join and fight. Let us go and get our people. Let's go fight real fights.”
McKenzie calls on SA to take strong action against M23 rebels in DRC
Image: Kabelo Mokoena
Patriotic Alliance leader and sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has called for South Africa to take action against those responsible for the deaths of 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
McKenzie was speaking during a parliamentary debate on the matter on Monday, and said “a war” had been declared by those who killed South African soldiers.
“This is not the time to point fingers, but we've been humiliated and we must teach people when you kill South Africans there are consequences,” he said.
“We are facing high youth unemployment. Let us use this opportunity to call for conscription and bring our young people in to train them. While we train them, let us go and teach [the] M23 [rebels in the DRC] a lesson.”
He urged MPs to lead by example and go fight.
“This is war; people are dying, and you're calling yourselves by titles here. Go and fight. I will be one of the first to join and fight. Let us go and get our people. Let's go fight real fights.”
SA’s military reinforces beleaguered DRC mission
South Africa has about 2,000 soldiers deployed in the eastern DRC supporting a Sadc peacekeeping mission.
On Monday, the matter took centre stage in parliament. While some parties, such as the EFF, called for the withdrawal of troops from the DRC, others such as the ANC, MK Party and IFP believe South Africa's military presence is necessary.
McKenzie said the debate should have been postponed until the remains of the soldiers had been repatriated.
“This house needs to do some soul-searching. We cannot be leaders and debate while our soldiers are not back. The families of soldiers who died must now watch on TV, hoping to get some information. There was no rush for this debate. It could have been postponed until we got our fallen soldiers back.”
Defence and military veterans minister Angie Motshekga gave an update on the status of the soldiers, saying their remains are still in Uganda undergoing pathology procedures and are expected to arrive in South Africa on Thursday.
TimesLIVE
MORE:
Lamola rejects MPs’ call for immediate withdrawal of SA troops from DRC
SANDF troops were unprepared for DRC mission, MPs argue
'I can never say abahambe to white South Africans': Gayton McKenzie
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