We have no army in SA: Malema

As calls mount for urgent action to be taken to safeguard the lives of the country’s soldiers who have been deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), EFF leader, Julius Malema, has added a spanner in the works, saying South Africa has no army.

He was reacting to the killing of nine South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers by the Rwandan-backed force, M23 rebels, in the east of the DRC. Four others, including three from Malawi, were also killed during the “fierce” two-day fighting.

The soldiers are part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) deployed to support and assist the government of Africa’s second-largest country to restore peace, security, and stability.

“It would have been worse because there is no necessary equipment in our base. They are just called soldiers for the sake of being called soldiers but there is no capacity at all. And what helps us is that all those who are around us are weak and no one can match us, but it does not make us any better. We have no army in South Africa,” says the EFF leader.

Malema also raised concern over the seemingly nonchalant response of the South African government to the development as well as the black-on-black violence that’s going on in the region.

”If you had shot nine American soldiers with that madness, which is the presidency of America now, there would have flattened you the following day,” he says.

Like many others, Malema says the soldiers should be brought back home if there they are not being capacitated.

He accuses the western leaders of benefitting from the instability in the DRC and other parts of the continent.

“They’ve been distabilising that country for many years because they want minerals from that country. There’s nothing revolutionary about M23.”

He says African leaders should work together to stabilise the Central African country, which he says, will benefit the continent.

The EFF leader believes that President Cyril Ramaphosa and Defence Minister, Angie Motshekga, must be held accountable for not providing adequate equipment to the soldiers.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called for an urgent debate in Parliament to assess whether the soldiers were adequately equipped for the mission, and measures to be taken to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

The United Africans Transformation has expressed condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the fallen soldiers.

It also raised concern over challenges the peacekeepers are reportedly grappling with on the ground.

“Reports of inadequate resources, outdated equipment, and insufficient tactical support raise serious questions about the safety and operational preparedness of our troops. It is disheartening that the SANDF, tasked with maintaining peace in highly volatile regions, continues to grapple with resource constraints and structural inefficiencies. These shortcomings not only jeopardise the safety of our soldiers but also compromise the broader goals of peacekeeping and stability in the region,” the organisation says in a statement.

It’s calling for a comprehensive review of the SANDF’s current operational strategy, improved resource allocation and transparent communication from the government and SANDF regarding the challenges on the ground and measures to enhance troop safety.

It is not yet clear when the bodies of the fallen soldiers will be repatriated.

The Presidency is also yet to release a statement on the tragedy, while the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Mathu Joyini, has told an emergency UN Security Council meeting that the country will continue to contribute to promoting peace and stability in the eastern region of the DRC and to the continent’s overall peacekeeping efforts.