By CHIMPREPORTS
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is investigating the circumstances under which their soldier killed a colleague before committing suicide.
“SANDF regrets to announce that two of its members currently deployed as part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) have died,” said the outfit in a statement issued on Friday night.
“The incident occurred when one of them shot and killed the other with their service weapon before turning the weapon on themselves with fatal consequences,” the statement added.
This brings to four the death toll of South African soldiers who have passed away in the DRC since their deployment in the war-torn country on December 15, 2023.
In February 2024, a mortar bomb landed inside one of the South African continent’s military bases, killing two soldiers – Captain Simon Bobe and Lance Corporal Irven Semono.
The South African soldiers are part of the Southern Africa Defence Cooperation force, comprising troops from Tanzania, Malawi, and Burundi, who are helping DRC forces address the M23 rebel insurgency.
The SANDF said it had already convened a “Board of Inquiry to work with the MONUSCO command to investigate the incident and the circumstances that led to it.”
The Minister of Defense and Military Veterans, Hon. Thandi Modise, has since expressed her shock at the incident.
SANDF said the members’ remains will be repatriated to South Africa in due course.
“All families have been informed of the unfortunate incident. The Minister of Defense and Military Veterans, Hon. Thandi Modise, the Deputy Minister of Defense and Military Veterans, Mr. Thabang Makwetla, the Acting Secretary for Defense, Dr. Thobekile Gamede, and the Chief of the SANDF, General Rudzani Maphwanya, express condolences to the families of the deceased,” said the SANDF.
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