Yet another South African National Defence Force (SANDF) fatality has been reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with the latest incident apparently involving a soldier shot to death by unidentified gunmen.
Radio Okapi reported that the South African soldier from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC) was killed on the night of Friday 19 July by gunmen near Goma airport. His body was discovered the next morning.
The soldier was apparently dressed in civilian clothes and was returning to his base after visiting a bar/restaurant.
Police apparently arrested five people in connection with the incident, including the manager of the bar and three Rwandan women living illegally in the DRC.
At the time of publication, the SANDF had not responded to a request for comment.
If confirmed, this brings to ten the number of SANDF personnel to have died in the DRC this year. The last incident occurred on 8 July when Major Tolla Pieterse was killed after a grenade detonated at his sleeping quarters in his Beni base. His death is being treated as a possible murder, as there were multiple complaints against him by disgruntled soldiers who viewed him as too strict.
Only some of the SANDF fatalities this year have been related to combat. On 14 February, two soldiers were killed and three injured in an M23 mortar attack, while another two died on 29 February in a murder/suicide.
The following month, on 30 May, a medic was killed and 13 troops wounded during an M23 attack on Sake, and two Captains were killed on 25 June in another M23 mortar attack on Sake that also injured 20 SANDF troops. This year, there was also a non-combat SANDF fatality who passed away in hospital in the DRC.
