WATCH: Second group of SANDF troops return to SA, more to arrive on Monday

257 SA National Defence Force (SANDF) members have arrived in South Africa on Sunday, with another group expected on Monday afternoon.

The troops were returning from a Southern African Development Community (Sadc) mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They were on the frontline of a conflict between the Congolese army and M23 rebel fighters, which raged for three years in the East of that country until a ceasefire was called in April.

WATCH: The group’s arrival at Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria

SECOND GROUP OF SANDF SOLDIERS BACK IN SOUTH AFRICA https://t.co/WQWZSwqTPk

— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) June 15, 2025

On Friday, 249 troops touched down at the Waterkloof Air Force Base outside Pretoria. They have been transported to Bloemfontein in the Free State to be debriefed, demobilised, assessed, receive counselling, and be reunited with their families.

Around 250 more troops are due to touchdown on SA soil on Monday.

SANDF chief of joint operations Siphiwe Sangweni said on Friday that several flights carrying troops will land in SA over the next few weeks.

“With bigger aircrafts, it will now be nine trips bringing our soldiers back to South Africa. The frequency of those aircraft moving will be almost every second day.”

Around 2 000 troops from SA, Malawi, and Tanzania are reportedly still in the DRC.

It is hoped that all SA military officials deployed to the region and their equipment will be back in SA by the end of June.

“We are fully aware that half the work is done in terms of prime mission equipment. Hence, we are working around the clock with our counterparts in the region to ensure that the process runs expeditiously with minimal logistical risks,” defence minister Angie Motshekga said.

Mission a success, says SANDF

Last month, South African National Defence Force (SANDF) head, General Rudzani Maphwanya and Motshekga called the mission a success and said it had contributed to peace in the area.

The DA slammed this, calling the deployment a “national tragedy”.

“The death of 14 South African soldiers and a further 174 injured in battle – brave men and women sent into an unstable conflict zone without air support, adequate equipment, or a coherent operational mandate – is not a success story. It is a national tragedy.

“Their blood is on Minister Motshekga’s hands. Whilst the returning troops make their way back to South Africa, the minister continues to spin political fairy tales instead of reckoning with the facts.”

It claimed that SA troops were paid less than a quarter of the stipend they were allegedly allocated, while Tanzanian and Malawian troops on the same mission “earned nearly double”.

ALSO READ: What is taking so long? Why SANDF troops can’t get a lift home

Minister a no-show to Parliament – twice

No reason for the discrepancy had been given, but it was among the issues likely to come up when the minister appeared before Parliament on 9 May.

But Motshekga did not show up. Instead, she was in Russia, on instruction from the ANC, to attend World War II Victory Day celebrations.

While Parliamentarians raged, committee chairperson and ANC member Malusi Gigaba defended the minister.

The minister failed to pitch to committee meetings again a week later.

Additional reporting by Jarryd Westerdale and Chulumanco Mahamba

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