Control SANDF soldiers or face the fallout

It’s no surprise that Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga has dismissed allegations of general misconduct in the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

After all, when eight South African soldiers were sent home from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in October last year, on serious misconduct allegations – including sexual abuse – our military commanders went into defence mode.

ALSO READ: Motshekga dismisses allegations of ‘rampant ill-disciple’ in SANDF

They accused the United Nations (UN), which first aired the allegations, of not following “standard reporting procedures” and that the SA defence advisor and UN representative did not receive initial notification of the allegations “through proper channels”.

Earlier this year, the soldiers were cleared of sexual exploitation and abuse allegations, but found guilty of violating base standing orders. Cover-up, anyone?

Given that SANDF troops were guilty of egregious violations of human rights during the initial Covid lockdown crackdown in 2020, it can be inferred our soldiers like to punch first and ask questions afterwards.

ALSO READ: Motshekga aims to turn SANDF around, but ‘political team doesn’t inspire confidence’

Soldiers are trained to employ maximum force – and lethal force if necessary. Given that they are equipped with lethal weapons, even on routine patrols (as shown in the Covid experience), they need to be particularly well-controlled and commanded.

While we accept the minister has a point when she says the SANDF misconduct in the DRC – even though the hierarchy denied it was the case – does not mean there is “general indiscipline” in the ranks, our military are like a loaded weapon which could go off at any moment.

Couple that with the increased calls for troops to be deployed in areas of civil society where they should not be involved, then we think the government should actually be facing up to the realities of the situation, rather than making excuses.

ALSO READ: Eight SANDF soldiers sent home after allegations of sexual abuse in DRC

An uncontrollable military leads, in the African context, to attempts to seize power.