DA blames Ramaphosa for SANDF casualties

Two South African National Defence Force (SANDF) members have been killed, and three were injured when a mortar bomb landed inside one of their bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Kobus Marais, a shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, says the blood of the fallen soldiers falls on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s hands.

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DA: ‘WE WARNED HIM SANDF DOES NOT HAVE CAPACITY’

“The blood of the fallen soldiers falls squarely on Ramaphosa’s hands. Two days ago, we warned him against deploying more troops to the Eastern DRC for the simple reason that the SANDF does not have the capacity to effectively pursue an anti-insurgency campaign against the M23 rebels and neither does it have the prime mission equipment to support the ground forces,” said Marais in a statement.

Ramaphosa ordered the deployment of 2,900 soldiers to the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as part of the Southern African Democratic Community (SADC) mission.

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SENDING OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS TO THEIR DEATH

Marais said although the Constitution explicitly gives the President authority for military deployment, in his capacity as the Commander in Chief, Parliament should not turn a blind eye when he makes decisions that place our sons and daughters in harm’s way. 

“What Ramaphosa is doing is sending the SANDF members to their death, and the only outcome from this reckless deployment will be more body bags coming back home,” he said.

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“It is clear that the M23 rebels, using their familiarity of the territory, are resorting to tactical ambushes of the SANDF to inflict maximum harm on our troops,” he added.