Hawks eye Kommetjie submarine tragedy

“I JUST want to give one last, hard fight for my wife. This will be the last thing I ever do for her and I want to do it right. I want to give it everything."

These were the words of Romero Hector, widower of Lieutenant Commander Gillian Hector, one of three South African Navy members who died in the 2023 Kommetjie submarine tragedy. 

Hector, along with Warrant Officers William Malesela Mathipa and Mokwapa Lucas Mojela, lost their lives during a storm when rough waters disrupted a vertical transfer operation. The incident saw seven crew members swept out to sea, with only four surviving.

The SA Navy on Tuesday handed over a copy of its Board of Inquiry (BOI) investigation report to the Hawks at Naval Headquarters, in Pretoria. 

“The engagements were meant to assist the Hawks with their ongoing investigations into the tragic incident wherein the SA Navy lost three of its submariners following a vertical transfer (VERTREP) exercise between SAS MANTHATISI and SA Air Force Maritime Lynx helicopter in September 2023.  The Chief of the SA Navy, Vice Admiral Monde Lobese subsequently convened a Board of Inquiry on the incident. This meeting and engagement with the Hawks underscores the Navy's commitment to transparency, cooperation and accountability, as the Chief of the SA Navy has always maintained that the organisation will, within the confines of the laws and regulations, communicate the outcomes of the Board whenever the need arises,” the SA Navy said.  

The Hawks did not respond to further requests for comment on the status of its investigation by deadline.

Romero said the handing of the BOI to the Hawks was welcomed but it still brought him no closer to accessing it, despite requests spanning over a year.

In June, he had supported calls to have the report declassified.

“It must be stated that the handing over of the BOI to the Hawks does not mean I will have access to the board. I am still in the same position as it has not been handed over to me and more steps need to be taken to obtain a copy. 

“The transparency that is claimed is not true. If it was, I would have also received a copy, as I have been requesting it via the legal system for more than a year. We will write again to the office of the Navy to obtain a copy in order to proceed with our steps in the civil matter. This matter is different to the Hawks (criminal) investigation,” he said.

Romero still missed his wife daily. He recently embarked on a cycling campaign titled #Justice4Submarine3, where completed 800 kilometres in four days, capturing and documenting the journey along the way. 

"It’s been a rollercoaster. I miss everything about her. You still dream about that person and then you must wake up and realise this person is no longer alive. We worked together, drove together, went to the gym and ran together. There wasn’t a single part of my life that she wasn’t part of. Without her, my life feels like one big, empty void. I just loved supporting her. She was a woman with enormous potential in her career, doing what she loved. All I ever wanted was to support her on her journey and I did that for 13 years. 

"When it comes to closure, I find it very difficult to even look for it. I’m fuelled by the desire and fight for justice.  For me, this is a journey of making sure this never happens again, of finding justice for Gillian and the widows of the other two members involved. Right now, I’m 100% committed to that fight. I just want to give one last, hard fight for my wife. This will be the last thing I ever do for her and I want to do it right. I want to give it everything," he said.

DA Spokesperson on Defence & Military Veterans, Chris Hattingh the handover of the Kommetjie investigation report to the Hawks was long overdue. It also marked  an essential first step toward justice.

“Choosing to push ahead with a high-risk vertical transfer exercise, despite clear weather warnings and a blatant disregard for critical safety protocols, was more than reckless. It was a decision that cost lives. The evidence now confirms what many feared: catastrophic failures in planning, risk management, and operational oversight directly led to the deaths of Lieutenant-Commander Gillian Hector and her two colleagues. That the Hawks see possible grounds for culpable homicide charges underscores the gravity of the failings on that day.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. The families of the fallen deserve closure. South Africans deserve answers. If negligence is proven, those responsible must be held fully accountable, swiftly and without compromise,”  said Hattingh.

Cape Times