MPs told that poor training not to blame for South African soldiers dying in DRC

Minister of Defence Angie Motshekga has denied that the South African government sent troops into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to protect the interests of influential business people linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Motshekga appeared in front of the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans on Tuesday.

There are allegations that the war in the DRC was influenced by capitalist interests involving mineral resources.

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SA deployment of troops part of SADC mandate

Motshekga said the mission in the DRC is purely one of peacekeeping mandated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

“A matter that requires answering is the allegations of why we are in the DRC. Heads of state met in Namibia and decided on the mission in Congo.

“Alleging that the soldiers were deployed to protect some business individuals in South Africa is taking the entire SADC for granted,” she said.

Motshekga described South Africa’s presence in the DRC as a peacekeeping mission, despite the president of Rwanda and some opposition parties in South Africa expressing an opposing view.

She said a SADC meeting last week had decided that the only way to solve the conflict was to bring the heads of neighbouring countries together to negotiate a peaceful solution.

The ministers and chiefs of defence have also been mandated to be on the ground in the DRC to facilitate a peaceful solution.

“Diplomacy is the only agreed process if you want peace in the DRC,” she said.

‘They were not sent to DRC to die’

Chief Rudzani Maphwanya of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) told members of parliament that the SA troops had not been sent to the DRC to die.

This comes after some parliamentarians accused the South African government of sending unprepared troops to a deadly war.

“The SANDF cannot be compared to an animal that gives birth and then eats its babies. The leadership of this organisation would not put our children in harm’s way,” he said.

‘SA soldiers were properly trained’

Maphwanya denied that South Africa had lost 14 soldiers because of poor training.

“After doing combat readiness training, the chief of joint operations receives the soldiers. These soldiers are then put through mission readiness training, which is tailor-made specifically for the mission where they are.

“It was not for lack of training that we suffered casualties. Most of our casualties did not occur due to close combat but indirect fire,” he said.

He said that upon realising the troops were in danger, some proactive steps were taken, including establishing mechanisms to receive intelligence and creating bunkers.

“We then determined whether the available bunkers were sufficient. These were developed and fortified when we realised the nature of the warfare we faced.

“Our members had been resourced and properly trained. We had done everything possible to protect those on the battlefield,” he said.

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