Fourteen of our soldiers were killed this past week in a proxy war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Our government claims to be none the wiser about how those soldiers lost their lives.
The DRC has, for a long time, been a playground for numerous regional and international players eyeing their minerals. This war has been waged under the pretext of a peacekeeping mission — our government has also joined this frenzy underpinned by cynical protection of mainly private interests linked to that country’s mineral wealth. Unfortunately for us, this has come with a loss of life and needs to stop.
The regional intervention seems to have failed. The latest was a public spat among the presidents of Rwanda, DRC and South Africa. This is a blow to the so-called finding African Solutions for African Problems. This has further emboldened western forces that are deeply involved in the conflict — now apparently testing their new war apparatus that they have placed in the hands of the warring factions. They do so while they pretend to be calling for peace.
The reality is over the past 30 years they have not taken any decisive action that would cut off resources to the warring factions for the war to end — the opposite is instead true, and there is no evidence that any serious action from them will be forthcoming any time soon.
Closer to home, we have to deal with allegations by Kigali that our troops were killed by the very DRC we were meant to defend. It is disturbing that our president is said to have confirmed this to another head of state while a different story was told to us
All of this is about the competing interests of everyone else other than the citizens of the DRC. These citizens see all these players for their selfishness. The burning down of key embassies in the DRC is a case in point that shows the discontent with the role that both international and regional powers have played in fuelling this war.
With the benefit of hindsight, we should dissect the role of mainly South Africa and Rwanda. First both seem to be a proxy for other interests to be so invested in a war that has not ended for 30 years. The reason South Africa is caught in the crossfire is that we are not seen as an impartial mediator but as partisan to one of the warring parties. This has made our continued stay untenable and likely to result in more loss of life as the conflict escalates. We will not be able to hide under the cloak of the UN any more.
Kigali, on the other hand, cannot shake off the stigma of supporting the M23 militia. This has been established by the UN on more than one occasion and has not been convincingly contradicted. Unless both these parties take a back seat so that other more neutral African players can enter the fray, there is no hope for a resolution.
It would come as no surprise that some of these leaders have a finger in the mineral interests in the DRC one way or another. This is the only thing that would explain their tone-deaf approach to the unfolding human tragedy when all logic points to withdrawal.
Closer to home, we have to deal with allegations by Kigali that our troops were killed by the very DRC we were meant to defend. It is disturbing that our president is said to have confirmed this to another head of state while a different story was told to us. Nothing has emerged nor has anyone been employed to contradict these claims.
As if that is not enough, morale is deteriorating, and no-one has deeply addressed the contradictory public statements about the crisis. The fact that our troops are low on ammunition is quite frankly embarrassing but not entirely surprising.
There has been growing concern expressed by our troops about the perilous state of our army, including issues such as the grounding of our fighter jets and other aerial forces.
Defence export needs, such as fuel and essential equipment, are in intermittent supply. Reports have hinted at this issue before, and parliament has told us something is not right in our army. This has been made worse by the recent defunding of the defence force. While the involvement in the DRC was initially noble, it has now become unaffordable. The R2.4bn spent on that mission is roughly the same deficit of defunding that shows in the budget numbers.
In other words, the government has now prioritised this peace mission instead of prioritising the strengthening of our defence force to protect its citizens. There is an urgent need to get our priorities straight.
This, in my view, is urgent. How many of our troops must perish before decisive action is taken?
It seems apparent that with problems back home — especially the glaring gaps in our military — we have no business putting the lives of our troops at risk in this particular poisoned chalice.
Our troops should come back home to help focus and allow the families of those who perished to find closure.
Is it too much to ask the president to explain why we shouldn’t retreat?
• Prof Tabane is the editor of Leadership Magazine and adjunct professor of media studies at the University of Botswana
For opinion and analysis consideration, e-mail Opinions@timeslive.co.za
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