Body of SA soldier killed in Mozambique handed over to his family

The body of Corporal Tebogo Edwin Radebe who died after an attack by insurgents in Mozambique this week, was handed over to his family yesterday at the Waterkloof Air Force Base, Pretoria.

The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has been deployed in Cabo Delgado province as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in Mozambique, also known as Operation Vikela.

Radebe was part of Operation Vikela when the soldiers came under attack from insurgents during an ambush east of Chai village on Monday.

Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thandi Modise was among the officials who formally handed the body to the family at the military procession ceremony.

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According to a statement, Radebe, from Paul Roux in the Free State, was born on 6 June 1990 and served as a member of SANDF in Limpopo. He is survived by his aunt, three siblings and two daughters. He was unmarried.

The extraordinary SADC summit of heads of state and government approved the deployment of SADC mission on 15 July as a regional response to help Mozambique combat terrorism and acts of violent extremism.

The country has been plagued by continued acts of terrorism perpetrated on civilians, women and children in some districts of Cabo Delgado.

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The SADC mission comprises troops deployed from eight SADC countries, Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia, working in collaboration with the Forcas Armadas de Defesa de Mocambique and other troops deployed to Cabo Delgado to combat acts of terrorism and violent extremism.

Modise and her office have again extended their condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of the deceased.

Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.

– SAnews.gov.za