Families of fallen SANDF troops deserve better than an endless wait with empty promises

We all breathed a sigh of relief when we heard that the remains of 14 fallen South African soldiers, who were killed in the battle with M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were finally coming home on Wednesday.

SA National Defence Force (SANDF) chief General Rudzani Maphwanya divulged this information while briefing parliamentarians on Tuesday.

“Yes, the bodies of the soldiers will be repatriated tomorrow as we have been working hard to prepare for that process,” he told MPs, without giving further details.

However, it was not to be, in fact it was heartbreaking.

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There was no arrival of soldiers’ corpses on Wednesday, yesterday or any update regarding this.

The announcement had come from nowhere, as on Monday SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini told this publication that repatriation was being discussed with relevant stakeholders as the situation was still tense in Goma.

But we thought at least they had managed to bring them home sooner.

The grieving families were also not told prior to the revelation in parliament, which was callous of SANDF leadership.

The wives, children and parents of the deceased heard the news, like the rest of us, from the media.

This led to confusion – not sure whether to prepare for funerals or wait as there were never given a date for repatriation due to the tense situation in Goma.

It also brought doubt as there was no official notification directly to them.

One of the affected families expressed frustration at the lack of information and lies that were told in parliament.

“The uncertainty, the heartache and the anger over what happened to him will not pass”, said private Pieter Strydom’s aunt, Annetjie Gouws on Wednesday evening.

The family of corporal Matome Justice Malesa was also in the dark and anxiously waiting for news.

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Rifleman Calvin Louis Moagi’s family told The Sowetan newspaper they were getting calls from the SANDF daily to update them, but nothing was said about repatriation of his remains.

“Seeing the news gives us hope but it would be better if we got it from SANDF.”

The deceased soldiers’ relatives have endured a lot in the past two weeks, as details of how their loved ones died and how they were not well-equipped for the war in DRC made headlines.

Critics said not much had changed from 12 years ago, when SA tragically lost 15 soldiers in the Central African Republic (CAR) due to inadequate resources and strategy for SANDF peacekeepers.

“Defence analysts and experts identified problems, such as the lack of proper equipment and support, even after troops requested it in advance,” said SA National Defence Union national secretary Pikkie Greef.

His sentiments were echoed by Chris Hattingh, DA spokesperson on defence, who said SA troops did not have “sophisticated ammunition the M23 rebels and the Rwandans possess”.

“There are even issues with our own ammunition. The sandbags meant to protect our soldiers are empty. The rebels use drones, but we have no drone capacity. We are not fighting on equal terms,” Hattingh said.

Any relative who read the reports definitely thought the soldiers’ deaths could have been avoided.

Yes, being in the army comes with risks but we expect all precautions to be taken to ensure the troops are not sent on doomed missions.

They deserve better than this endless wait with empty promises. SANDF, when are our fallen troops coming home?

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