Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Angie Motshekga is back in South Africa, after her trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo last week, where she visited members of the SA National Defence (SANDF) deployed on a peacekeeping mission.
IOL reported last week that Motshekga’s trip to the vast nation located in central Africa began on Wednesday and would run until Saturday.
IOL also reported that in a tragic escalation of violence in DRC, nine members of the SANDF were killed, and several other soldiers were injured on Thursday and Friday, while serving in Sake.
The SANDF troops, deployed as part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), were engaged in days of battle to prevent the rebel group from advancing towards Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu.
On Monday, the M23 rebels claimed to have overrun the city of Goma.
SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini said the South African troops who are part of SADC peacekeepers deployed to DRC are safe.
He also confirmed that Motshekga is back in South Africa, and the minister would brief President Cyril Ramaphosa on what she gathered during her tour of DRC.
“Yes, she did travel, and she returned on Saturday,” said Dlamini.
“The minister has to first give a report to the commander-in-chief as to her observations and that will be taking place in due course. She will only be able to speak after that engagement with the commander-in-chief.”
Dlamini said Motshekga would probably make public pronouncements over her trip, but only after engaging Ramaphosa.
The SANDF said the “long process” of preparing the bodies of the fallen soldiers will now commence, in preparation for their remains to be brought to their families in South Africa.
“We have taken the remains to the hospital in Goma and what happens next is that they will be processed, meaning post-mortems will be conducted and all relevant processes to be followed there. Back here at home, our chaplaincy has started the process of informing the families that have lost their loved ones and those that were injured,” said Dlamini.
He said in the coming few days, the SANDF will likely indicate the day on which the mortal remains of the soldiers will be arriving home.
“But they have to be processed at the place where they fell so that when they come home, we know that from a medical point of view and other processes to secure the bodies have been done. What normally takes long is the post-mortem in this case,” said Dlamini.
The SANDF said it has not yet released the names of the fallen soldiers, as the process of notifying families of the deceased is ongoing.
IOL