The bodies of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members who died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be repatriated on Wednesday, the SANDF chief told parliament on Tuesday, but an expert said remarks by Rwandan President Paul Kagame on South Africa’s interest in DRC minerals were concerning.
Defence minister Angie Motshekga and SANDF chief Gen Rudzani Maphwanya gave a report on the security situation in the DRC to the portfolio committee on defence and military veterans on Tuesday.
The presentation — which was not submitted to the committee before the sitting as expected — gave background on the peacekeeping mission and agreement with Sadc missions, then briefly touched on the repatriation process of the bodies of 14 SANDF soldiers who died last month.
The officer commanding the operation headquarters, Major-General Godfrey Thulare, gave a “toned down” report to avoid any security risks.
“The priority we are waiting for is the repatriation of the bodies of the deceased and the injured. To do that, we have engaged the UN and Monusco in the DRC with regard to this repatriation and are continuously pushing them. We engaged Sadc through the secretariat and engage them on a daily basis to bring back our deceased and those who are injured.”
This, however, was not satisfactory to the committee, with the majority of MPs demanding to know when the deceased would be returned to their families.
In a brief response, Maphwanya said “tomorrow [Wednesday]”.
EFF MP Carl Niehaus said the electricity issues in the DRC impacted the preservation of the remains of the fallen soldiers.
“There is no electricity at the mortuary and the bodies have started to decompose. This is a tragedy for the families, and it is sad for our whole country. The mortuary generator has run out of diesel. Those who are injured have run out of medical care.
“The fact is, SANDF in Goma and the eastern DRC are surrounded by M23. They are not allowed to move or get food. It is correct that a number of the soldiers died earlier last year and that number was 10. This year, more died ... But in total, in the past six months, 24 soldiers passed on. This is the kind of report we should have received from the SANDF.”
Motshekga did not answer repeated questions on when the wounded soldiers would return or when the South African mission to the DRC would come to an end.
She instead confirmed that she visited the wounded soldiers at the SAMIDRC and UN hospitals.
Motshekga denied claims made on Monday night by Rwandan President Kagame to CNN that South Africa stood to benefit from the DRC's minerals and that the SANDF was deployed to secure such minerals.
She said the mission was an agreement by 15 heads of state of the Sadc region.
“It would really shock me to the core that the heads of state of 15 countries met on a specific day ... and took a decision from the SAMIDRC and all 15 agreed to go and protect the interests of South African business. In my view, it’s taking the entire Sadc for nothing. It’s a mission supported also by the African Union (AU) and UN ... It can’t be true.”
However, defence expert Darren Olivier told TimesLIVE Premium that South Africa should worry about Kagame’s remarks as at least 1,500 South African troops along with soldiers from Tanzania and Malawi were being held hostage by M23 and Rwanda in Goma and Sake.
“Understanding Rwandan, and by extension, M23 intentions regarding the ongoing safety of those troops and options for a safe and orderly withdrawal of them and their equipment to a safe location is crucial, and for Kagame to be this belligerent is concerning.
“However, South Africa should also understand that Kagame is a dictator with a vested interest in providing a misleading picture of South Africa and SAMIDRC’s role to delegitimise them and to cover up the illegal actions of his own country. So his claims should be weighted cautiously and with all due scepticism, even though South Africans hold their own leaders accountable,” Olivier said.
Olivier told TimesLIVE Premium that a withdrawal from the mission was impossible without a negotiated agreement with the M23 and Rwanda.
“A unilateral withdrawal is no longer possible. South Africa is not there alone. It is part of both a Sadc and separately a UN mission. Withdrawing from these has its own process and diplomatic concerns. Further, a withdrawal at this stage will deal another blow to South Africa’s credibility on the continent, and likely end its ability to lead or play a significant part in similar peace enforcement missions for a decade or more,” he said.
However, withdrawal may still be a better option, he said.
“Given that the main goal of SAMIDRC’s initial intervention, and that of the Monusco troops stationed nearby, was to prevent and takeover of Sake and Goma, it could be argued that the mission has already failed, and further success is unlikely.”
Motshekga told the committee that negotiations and engagements with the East African communities and the Sadc states were taking place during the week.
“There will be a follow-up meeting over the weekend to ensure how far the process is going,” she said.
Asked whether the SANDF members were well-trained for the mission, Maphwanya explained that each soldier goes through training before being sent off.
This includes combat readiness training which takes place in various units and a certificate of completion is provided.
Chief Joint Operations then receives the soldiers and puts them through mission readiness training that is tailor-made for the specific mission.
“This grouping that went to [the DRC] went through combat readiness training and mission readiness training. It was not [due to] lack of training that we suffered casualties.
“Most of our casualties did not come as a result of close combat but as a result of indirect fire sent to our positions. We realised that, indeed ... there are things we could have done to improve. We have improved security and intelligence collection and how we combat the bombardment. The bunkers were created, which was a logical thing soldiers do,” he said.
On whether the SANDF soldiers were adequately equipped, both Maphwanya and Motshekga said some of the arms were reserved in the country while they beefed up security in the DRC.
Maphwanya did not want to disclose the current security capabilities but mentioned that an Oryx and Rooivalk aircraft were deployed under Monusco which SANDF can use for its own purposes.
“I want to assure all South Africans that you have a defence force that is capable of protecting you. The situation in the DRC is not a result of our lack of ability to protect and defend you. We will continue to be your pillar and the last hope you have and we will continue to bring hope where hope is abandoned. South Africa and all its people — we will continue to protect the territorial integrity and look after your needs and we will need, during this period of mourning, to rally our efforts together and move into a conclusion of this sad era of grief.”
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