Emotional handover of soldiers who died in DRC

by Silindokuhle Booi

The handover ceremony of the mortal remains of the 14 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers who lost their lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took place at the Air Force Base Swartkop in Pretoria.

The ceremony was initially scheduled for an earlier date but was postponed due to parliamentary commitments related to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) debate. The SANDF had also announced that the national flag would be flown at half-mast for seven days as a mark of respect for the fallen soldiers.

The handover ceremony was a somber occasion, with the families of the fallen soldiers in attendance. The SANDF and the government have pledged to support the families during this difficult time.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, as Commander-in-Chief of the SANDF, officiated the ceremony, which included a memorial service to honour the fallen soldiers. The President paid tribute to the families of the departed soldiers, describing their deaths as a “tragic and devastating” loss.

A glimpse of the handover was shared on X (previously known as Twitter) by the Presidency account.

X users seemed to be unimpressed, the shared their views as they blamed the government for the deaths.

One shared that if more soldiers die, they would be in trouble.

Another one said that they did not trust them because they once buried empty coffins.

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