South Africa continues to sacrifice the lives of its troops in the unending civil war in the DRC. The latest casualty was Maj JC Pieterse, 46, who was killed this week when a hand grenade exploded outside his tent in Beni, northeastern DRC, bring the number of service members killed in that country to eight.
It's been a grim toll so far this year. In February Capt Simon Mkhulu Bobe and L-Cpl Irven Thabang Semono were killed, and three of their colleagues were injured, in a mortar attack in Sake, in North Kivu province. In May, Sgt Mbulelo David Ngubane was killed and 13 were injured in a bloody ambush by the M23 rebel group. One of the injured soldiers had to have his foot amputated. Last month Capt Lucky Marina and Cap Rebaone Kgopane died in another mortar attack, also in Sake.
We need to remember the names of these soldiers whose lives were needlessly frittered away, and those of their number who sustained life-altering injuries. They joined the military with the noble intention to serve their country, even to pay the supreme sacrifice. The usual retort is: oh, but they knew what they were getting themselves into. Yes, but little did they know when they enlisted that they'd perish like mercenaries in foreign lands. And they couldn't have bargained for a more resilient foe than M23: highly motivated, with a better understanding of the terrain and enjoying strong, if furtive, regional support.
M23, short for March 23 Movement, otherwise known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, operates primarily in North Kivu, which borders both Rwanda and Uganda. It is believed to be funded by Rwanda, a claim strenuously rejected by the government in Kigali. But a UN report pointed an accusing finger at both Rwanda and Uganda, claiming recently that upwards of three to four thousand Rwandan soldiers were fighting alongside the M23 in the DRC and that the Rwandan government had “de facto control” of the group. Both countries played a key role in Laurent-Desire Kabila’s overthrow of former Zairean strongman Mobutu Sese Seko. But they now seem to have a beef with Kabila’s successors in Kinshasa.
The M23 rebels are largely Congolese Tutsis, with the same tribal affiliation as the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front of President Paul Kagame. Rwanda has accused the government in Kinshasa of giving asylum to Hutu rebels, who count among them members of the Interahamwe responsible for the 1994 genocide in which about a million people died.
Rwanda has often been accused of having territorial ambitions for the mineral- and resource-rich eastern part of the DRC. In 2012 the M23 launched a large offensive and took over the provincial capital of Goma, capital of North Kivu, displacing hundreds of thousand of civilians. While Goma is a few kilometres across the Rwandan border — just under a four-hour drive from Kigali — it’s more than 2,000km from the capital Kinshasa. The peace agreement the M23 signed 10 years ago with the national government, which saw them giving up control of Goma and abandoning their armed rebellion, has collapsed, and they are again closing in on the capital. Humanitarian organisations are warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in eastern DRC. The Norwegian refugee council puts the number of internally displaced people at more than 7-million.
Into this maelstrom vaults South Africa, with characteristic hubris — or is it naiveté? — and always eager to carry the problems of the entire universe on its soldiers. The government has committed to sending 2,900 troops to the DRC to help Kinshasa engage in what is essentially a civil war. The South Africans replaced a contingent of East African troops expelled by DRC President Felix Tshisekedi because he claimed they were not up to the job of fighting the rebels — a case of a beggar being a chooser. It remains to be seen whether the South African troops will live up to Tshisekedi’s expectations. What is clear however is that South Africans are losing their lives in a war that has nothing to do with them.
Rwanda has often been accused of having territorial ambitions for the mineral- and resource-rich eastern part of the DRC
The country seems quite eager to sacrifice its young people to fight other people's battles. It has had troops in Burundi, Darfur and currently has members as part of a Sadc deployment fighting Islamist rebels in northern Mozambique. While Botswana, Lesotho, Angola and Namibia have withdrawn their soldiers with the expiry of the mandate this month, South Africa has decided its 1,500 fighters — comprising two thirds of the mission — will stay on until the end of the year. We obviously don't have any need for them here at home.
In March 2013, the public suddenly realised South African soldiers were in the Central African Republic (CAR) when thirteen of them were killed, and an unknown number injured, in a vain attempt to stop Seleka rebels marching into the capital Bangui. The government has yet to explain why it had sent 200 troops to fight a civil war in the CAR and why it provided VIP protection for President Francois Bozize as far back as 2007. Those South African lives were lost in vain. Bozize fled to neighbouring DRC immediately after our soldiers were slaughtered.
Our troops should not be used to shield corrupt and autocratic leaders from the wrath of their own people. First, it is a pointless exercise: despite the loss of life, these missions always end in failure. Second, intervention means taking sides in a civil war, thus antagonising a significant part of the population. It also complicates matters with the region, as shown by South Africa's strained relations with Rwanda.
But how long can we continue to be the continent’s fire brigade? All we do in fact is add fuel to the fire. Politicians should therefore think twice before putting our troops in harm's way. The problems require political, not military, solutions. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who fancies himself as a consummate negotiator, should put those skills to good use. He could also lean on the ingenuity of his newly-minted defence minister.
No military power can defeat a people determined to decide their own fate. Ask the US.
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