‘We are not scared of anybody’: Holomisa on R1.6bn withdrawal from DRC

Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Bantu Holomisa says the withdrawal of South African troops from the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is not motivated by fear of defeat or lack of resources.

On Thursday, leaders from the Southern African Development Communities (SADC) met and agreed that the region’s deployment to the DRC should be withdrawn.

There were growing calls from political parties in South Africa for countries in the region to pull out of the mission.

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SA government U-turn on DRC

However, speaking to The Citizen on Friday, Holomisa said South Africa could have kept the mission going.

“We are not scared of anybody. If we wanted to fight, we could have targeted the people that are behind this, but we did not opt for that. That is why Cyril Ramaphosa called [Rwanda President] Paul Kagame and spoke about a ceasefire and saving lives in that region,” he said.

Rwanda has been accused of backing M23 rebels fighting DRC forces in the conflict, a claim Kagame has repeatedly denied.

Holomisa said more than 2 000 people had died in the DRC since the war began, including 14 South African soldiers involved in peacekeeping missions.

“We have opted not to fight and we are obeying the decision of SADC,” he said.

What now?

Holomisa said withdrawing SADC troops from the eastern DRC will not be an easy process, with SA forces having to negotiate with M23 rebels for safe passage out of the affected areas.

“There are a lot of processes that are underway currently, with the aim of making sure that our troops are safe. Where they are now, they are in a territory where the M23 are a de facto government.”

Holomisa said SADC mission leaders had been engaging with M23 rebels who understand that their presence there is for peacekeeping reasons.

“They understand that we are not there to fight anybody, so the next step that is going to follow is for the commanders of the defence forces of South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi to present a withdrawal plan to the UN,” he said.

Holomisa said the withdrawal could take some time and will happen in phases.

“SADC had agreed to foot the bill for the withdrawal, estimated to be around $93 million (about R1.6 billion). We are talking about removing three armies based in that part of the world,” he said.

There are concerns that instability in eastern DRC could spill over to other parts of the SADC region and Holomisa said a plan should be devised so there is no vacuum once the troops leave.

“We must be careful of withdrawing and leaving a vacuum. Another issue that has become a problem is humanitarian support because Goma airport is closed.

“We cannot leave our weapons, that would just be scandalous. We could either hand them to the UN to process or take them back home.”

When will our troops come home?

Holomisa said he could not give a definite time frame for all South African troops to return home.

“We have to protect the equipment. We do not intend to fight and we respect the ceasefire. The politicians must sort out their mess and find peace through a round table discussion,” he said.

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