The events in which fourteen soldiers of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are very alarming; there needs to be accountability and consequences.
The FF Plus is, therefore, calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate, among other things, media reports alleging that senior SANDF generals withheld important information regarding the mission from the President.
According to a report by the renowned military journalist Erika Gibson in Rapport, certain generals insisted that the President should be informed of the defence force’s shortcomings and consequent inability to proceed with the mission.
But other senior generals reportedly prevented them from doing so. This means that any information, even if it related to a possible coup, could be withheld from the President.
The FF Plus wants to express its deepest condolences to the casualties’ next of kin even though nothing can undo the tragic events.
During the new dispensation, the SANDF’s defence ability was comprehensively reviewed twice – once in 1998 and again in 2015. The 1998 review indicated that South Africa had procured some of the most sophisticated weaponry available, costing billions.
The 2015 report made specific recommendations that were never executed and, as a result, most of South Africa’s weapons have fallen into disuse due to a lack of money and maintenance.
This plays a critical role in South Africa’s ability to participate in peace missions in Africa. Such missions can be undertaken, but then the necessary weaponry needs to be available, soldiers need to be thoroughly trained and the necessary logistic support needs to be in place.
Besides, the DRC tragedy is a repetition of the Battle of Bangui that transpired in the Central African Republic in 2013. Fifteen South African soldiers were killed in this battle.
After such an incident, an in-depth investigation and analysis are always done to determine what went wrong and how to avoid something similar in the future. Twelve years later, however, history repeated itself.
At the moment it seems that senior generals are desperately trying to hide the SANDF’s ineptitude and decline from the President.
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