Defence chief calls for unity at funeral

Defence force chief General Solly Shoke has called on South Africans to unite in honouring the 13 soldiers who were killed in combat in the Central African Republic.

Shoke was speaking after the funeral of one of those killed, Rifleman Xolani Dlamini of Diepkloof, Soweto, who was buried with full military honours at West Park Cemetery in Johannesburg.

Dlamini, 26, was one of 12 of the paratroopers to be buried around the country yesterday.

Rifleman Motsamai Bojane is scheduled to be buried in the Free State today.

Shoke said he was proud of the men who fought in the battle against CAR rebels in Bangui two weeks ago. Another 27 soldiers were wounded.

"They did us proud. As a country, I think we should honour them irrespective of our political affiliation, race, gender or religious denomination," he said.

"We should, as South Africans, be able to rise above petty party politics and unite as a nation around these young men."

Asked about the South African troops who are still in the CAR, Shoke said: "The commander-in-chief [President Jacob Zuma] has issued an order.

''As to how I retreat - leave it to the military men on the ground."

Uniformed soldiers escorted Dlamini's coffin, which was draped in a South African flag, as it was carried to the cemetery from Diepkloof on a gun carriage.

Johannesburg mayor Parks Tau was among those who attended the funeral service, which was held in a packed Diepkloof Hall in Soweto.

Dlamini joined the South African National Defence Force in December 2008 and later became a member of the elite 1 Parachute Battalion based at Tempe, Bloemfontein.

Rear Admiral Samuel Hlongwane, the deputy chief of the SA Navy, told mourners that Dlamini and his colleagues paid the "toughest price" they could have paid in trying to bring peace and stability to the CAR.

"We knew them as disciplined members, the soldiers of peace who chose what very few would choose," said Hlongwane. The admiral said that despite the fact that the troops in Bangui had been fighting on two fronts, they had succeeded in forcing the rebels to raise the white flag.

Dlamini is survived by his parents, Mandla and Kholekile Mbambo, and his grandmother, Victoria Dlamini.

The other soldiers buried yesterday were Rifleman Thabiso Anthon Phirimana, Rifleman Lesego Hertzog Lebatlang, Rifleman Maleisane Samuel Thulo, Corporal Ntebaleng Andrew Mogorosi, Corporal Mokgadi Darius Seakamela, Lance-Corporal Lukas Mohapi Tsheke, Lance-Corporal Daniel Sello Molara, Rifleman Zamani Jim Mxhosana, Rifleman Vusumzi Joseph Ngaleka, Rifleman Khomotso Paul Msenga and Rifleman Karabo Edwin Matsheka.