Angie Motshekga has been in the hot seat at the defence ministry for all of seven months. She arrived there as a chess piece in President Cyril Ramaphosa's first cabinet reshuffle after last year's national election.
Motshekga's new job followed a 15-year stint as education minister. At 69, she was probably as baffled as the rest of South Africa when Ramaphosa announced her new portfolio.
As a political head, Motshekga is not necessarily required to be an unrivalled expert in all things military, but some experience in defence should at least be a prerequisite for the position she holds. Why Ramaphosa appointed her to this post is a question that has been asked with increasing frequency this week, along with calls for her head to roll, after the deaths of 13 South African soldiers in the DRC over the past week.
South African troops form part of a 5,000-strong Southern African Development Community (Sadc) mission, deployed early last year.
There is no quick or easy answer to the question of whether South Africa should withdraw its troops from the DRC. Even if there was, it is not Motshekga's decision to make. It is above her pay grade. There are political and diplomatic implications that must be considered. As British philosopher Bertrand Russell put it, “War does not determine who is right, only who is left.”
In a bizarrely upbeat tone, the SANDF statement extolled the ‘heroic resistance’ put up by our ‘gallant fighters’ who had ‘halted’ the advancement of the rebel group towards Goma. Only after a wordy ode to our military prowess did the statement confirm that the SANDF had ‘lost’ nine members in the process, noting that they had put up a ‘brave fight’.
But the minister must shoulder much of the blame for the shoddy way the government has communicated this tragic event to the country over the past six days.
On Friday, when news first broke that multiple soldiers had been killed in the DRC, our government stayed silent. It was left to the South African National Defence Union, political parties and industry insiders to report that soldiers had died. They all called on government to give some kind of confirmation or, at the very least, acknowledge what had happened. But for more than 24 hours, there was nothing but silence from our defence minister and other leaders.
It was only on Saturday night that the South African National Defence Force finally released a statement. In a bizarrely upbeat tone, the statement extolled the “heroic resistance” put up by our “gallant fighters” who had “halted” the advancement of the rebel group towards Goma. Only after a wordy ode to our military prowess did the statement confirm that the SANDF had “lost” nine members in the process, noting that they had put up a “brave fight”.
Ramaphosa's comments this week did not give a lot more insight, adding only that the repatriation of the bodies was “under way”, and that the situation in Goma and Sake, where South African troops were stationed, “remains very tense, volatile and unpredictable”.
On Wednesday, Motshekga finally displayed a modicum of avidity, telling the media at the cabinet lekgotla that Ramaphosa had warned the Rwandan government against attacks on South Africa’s peacekeeping troops. But even then, the minister's comments were focused mainly on the ceasefire and there was little mention of the men who died on her watch. There were also no details about those injured.
Government's communication on this disaster has been lacklustre, slow and phlegmatic. While we understand it can be difficult to pin down specific details when chaos is unfolding on the ground, what South Africans — and more specifically the families of those who died — needed to see from our leaders was outrage, action and leadership.
Motshekga, who was visiting the troops in the DRC last week when the first fatalities occurred, was perfectly positioned to immediately seize control of the narrative and give South Africans insight into what went down. Instead she kept quiet, making herself a target for angry South Africans looking for answers.
We hope she gives a more detailed account when she is questioned next Tuesday by the portfolio committee on defence and military veterans. The committee has asked Motshekga to provide a full briefing on the soldiers’ deaths. For the sake of those who lost loved ones, and others questioning our country’s role and resources in this mission, we hope she gives a full, detailed account.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.