President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected at the hand-over ceremony of the mortal remains of the 14 SANDF soldiers killed in the DRC by M23 rebels.
Image: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers
The arrival of the bodies of the 14 South Africans soldiers will be a challenging reality for some families who have not seen their slain loved ones since January last year.
According to reports, President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to attend the hand-over of the remains of the fallen South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to their families, two weeks after their deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The hand-over will take place on Thursday evening, at the Air Force Base Swartkop, in Centurion.
It will be followed by a memorial service at the same venue to pay homage to the departed troops.
Originally scheduled to begin at 9am, the events were postponed due to Parliamentary commitments related to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate, in which Ramaphosa was involved.
“The scheduled handing over ceremony of the mortal remains of SANDF fallen soldiers as well as the memorial service have been postponed,” SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said
In his SONA address last week, Ramaphosa declared seven days of mourning and ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast in honour of the slain soldiers.
The soldiers were killed in the mineral-rich eastern DRC by the notorious M23 rebel group.
The bodies of 14 SANDF soldiers killed in the DRC will be handed over to their families at the Air Force Base Swartkop in Centurion on Thursday.
Image: SANDF/Se-Anne Rall
The SANDF was deployed as part of a multinational Southern African Development Community (SADC) force to help stabilise the region amid the ongoing clashes.
Families have anxiously awaited the arrival of the soldiers’ remains, which were initially expected to arrive last week on Wednesday.
Some of the family members previously told IOL News that the last time they saw their loved ones was January 2024, while another soldier was due to celebrate his 44th birthday on February 25.
Rising tensions and logistical challenges in the DRC delayed the repatriation process.
The names of the fallen SANDF soldiers:
The remains were first sent to the United Nations (UN) Logistics Base in Entebbe, Uganda, for standard pathology procedures, before being brought to South Africa.
Defence Minister Angie Motshekga said seven of the soldiers are from Limpopo, three from the Free State and the rest of the men from the North West, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape.
Motshekga stated that all the officers will be laid to rest in full military honour for their sacrifice.
Meanwhile, political parties have been calling on the South African government to withdraw its troops from the region, citing concerns over equipment and rising tensions in the region.
IOL News