The ferocious leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has denounced the use of South African troops in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), claiming that they are unable to defeat the M23 rebels.
Malema denounced the government’s choice to deploy troops under the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) during a discussion on the deaths of 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers in eastern DRC on Monday at the South African National Assembly.
Malema maintained that the mission was a direct military action against the “well-equipped” and strategically minded M23 insurgents rather than a peacekeeping expedition. He charged that the government had left soldiers vulnerable by deploying them without necessary military equipment like fighter jets and drones.
“The public have been purposefully mislead by our government. In actuality, our troops are up against an adversary that has better resources, intelligence, and equipment,” he said.
Malema also attributed the recent losses to the SANDF’s inability to coordinate and gather intelligence, especially during the M23 attack on Goma.
He said that inadequate coordination with regional partners and the Congolese military resulted in a weak and disjointed reaction, and that intelligence failures left South African soldiers unprepared.
He went on to say that the absence of clear orders from the leadership caused haphazard withdrawals and needless deaths, which also resulted in the deaths of two SAMIDRC soldiers from Tanzania and two from Malawi.
The EFF leader went on to blame years of corruption and government neglect for SANDF’s deteriorating capabilities. Budget cuts, he said, had crippled the military, causing helicopters and airplanes to be grounded for lack of upkeep.
He maintained that corruption and poor administration had significantly reduced the army’s efficacy, even if the deployment has cost the government R2.3 billion since it started.
“South Africa’s defense technology has been transferred to foreign entities by officials who have embezzled and mismanaged funds.” “This is absolutely insane,” he remarked.
Malema also accused the Department of Defense of outrageously stealing state resources at the expense of soldiers by squandering more than R250 million on outsourcing IT services while neglecting internal capabilities.
The struggle for Goma City claimed the lives of some of the dead soldiers, while clashes between M23, the Congolese military, and coalition forces in Sake claimed the lives of others.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) transported their remains to Uganda through the main Rwanda-DRC border crossing, La Corniche, around noon on Friday, following days of delays. Upon arrival in Kampala, the decomposing bodies were scheduled for preparation before being flown to South Africa via Entebbe International Airport. However, as of Monday afternoon, they were yet to be repatriated, with final arrangements expected this week. Malema expressed outrage over the delays, calling the situation “unacceptable.”
“We have to be clear. Peace is not the goal of our troop deployment in the DRC. Our men are being sacrificed for a war that has no end in sight. He bemoaned the delays, saying that the families of the deceased troops had suffered greatly. “This government continues to send them to die in a foreign land, and when they do, their bodies are not even repatriated with the dignity they deserve,” he said.
The Congolese government has been persecuting and marginalizing Congolese Rwandophones for decades, according to M23.
Malema demanded that South African forces leave the country right away, saying that no more people should die in a “senseless conflict.”
He urged the government to bring the troops home, echoing calls for a ceasefire made during discussions at the recent joint Southern African Development Community (SADC) and East African Community (EAC) summit in Tanzania. During the EAC-SADC summit on Saturday, regional Heads of State called for a political solution rather than a military one. The Congolese government has been urged to prioritize meaningful and honest dialogue with M23 and other rebel forces in the country to silence guns in the eastern region.
