The 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members killed in the DRC. Graphic: Mallory Munien
THE families of the 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are expected to finally receive the mortal remains of their loved ones Thursday, said the SANDF.
“The handing over ceremony of the mortal remains of the SANDF heroes, who lost their lives in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), will take place (at the) Air Force Base Swartkop,” said SANDF spokesperson Simphiwe Dlamini.
The fallen soldiers are: Staff Sergeant William Eddie Cola, Staff Sergeant Molahlehi Ishmael Molahlehi, Staff Sergeant Shwahlane Theophilus Seepe, Corporal Matome Justice Malesa, Corporal Rinae Nemavhulani, Lance Bombardier Itumeleng Macdonald Moreo, Lance Corporal Tseke Moffat Molapo, Lance Corporal Metse Stansly Raswiswi, Rifleman Sebatane Richard Chokoe, Rifleman Derrick Maluleke, Rifleman Tshidiso Andries Mabele, Rifleman Calvin Louis Moagi, Rifleman Mokete Joseph Mobe, Private Peter Jacobus Strydom.
They were killed when rebel group the M23, backed by Rwandan forces, advanced to the crucial area of Goma in the DRC, where they had been deployed as a part of a peacekeeping mission.
Calls here at home have been mounting for the government to withdraw South African troops, with opposition parties claiming they were severely under-resourced.
In an opinion piece this week, Professor Neethling of the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State highlights the severe underfunding the SANDF has experienced over the years.
“Since 1998 it became evident that the SANDF found it increasingly difficult to conduct operations as a declining budget started to constrain the SANDF. This is linked to the fact that between 1995 and 1998, the defence budget was cut by 11.1%, which eventually resulted in a growing mismatch between policy intent and execution. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) South African defence spending had been reduced to less than 3% in the mid-1990s, which boiled down to less than 10% of total government spending.
“The defence budget then further decreased to 1.54% of GDP in 2004/05 and levelled out in 2014/15 at around 1.2% to 1.1% of GDP. Despite a dwindling defence budget, the government increasingly expected the SANDF to support the SAPS as murder and death rates rose to levels comparable to – or in some cases even exceeding – those in high-intensity war zones internationally. This has placed the SANDF in an almost impossible position, forced to balance its demanding regional deployments with ongoing appeals from politicians and the public to intervene in crime-ridden hotspots where the SAPS is unable to fulfil its constitutional duty to protect South Africans.”
Cape Times
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