Whether current SA National Defence Force (SANDF) Chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya, will complete his term of office and possibly serve a second term as the country’s senior soldier rests with President Cyril Ramaphosa on the advice of, among others, his current Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Angie Motshekga.
Maphwanya’s predecessor Solly Shoke served a second term as chief, exiting at age 64. The age issue with Maphwanya, born on 23 November, 1960, and still in office “five years past normal military retirement age” according to Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament (MP), Chris Hattingh, is the problem. The Limpopo-born Maphwanya took office on 1 June 2021, which – if he was appointed for five years – expires in June this year, making age and not time in office the bone of contention.
Shoke was in office for 10 years and 28 days – double the set five year term of office, exiting at age 64 on 30 May 2021.
That Maphwanya – now 65 years and three months old – is still occupying the SANDF Chief suite of offices in the Armscor Building without, again according to Hattingh, “a lawful, formal and time-bound extension, properly authorised and disclosed to Parliament” made it to last week’s Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) meeting in Cape Town.
The Shoke extension notwithstanding, Hattingh notes the SANDF retirement age for uniformed personnel is 60 with Motshekga – as yet – failing to explain the extension. The DA MP raised Maphwanya’s tenure during a December Joint Standing Committee on Defence (JSCD) meeting reporting evasion, not answers to questions.
“Deputy Minister Bantu Holomisa told the JSCD he would ‘find out’. Second Deputy Minister Richard Hlophe (aka Richard Mkhungo) dismissed the matter as ‘not on the agenda’. Faced with this stonewalling, the JSCD agreed to write formally to the Minister of Defence [and Military Veterans] demanding clarity,” a Hattingh statement has it adding, “six weeks later, there is still no response — a deliberate refusal to account”.
He asks who authorised continued service past the age of 65, on what legal basis, was it done before Maphwanya turned 65, how long is the extension and “why is Parliament being kept in the dark”?
Even more outspoken is Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP, Carl Niehaus, who turned to social media writing Maphwanya is “serving illegally” as he is past retirement age.
Succession planning in the Department of Defence (DoD), SANDF, Department of Military Veterans (DMV) is not made public other than to confirm appointments and promotions with glaring examples of acting and/or interim appointments rather than permanent ones making it into the public view.
One is the senior DoD accounting officer, formally the Secretary for Defence, with Thobekile Gamede acting since the departure of Sonto Kudjoe late in 2022. Similarly, no Chief Defence Reserves has been named since Roy Andersen exited in May 2021. As far as can be ascertained Brigadier General Zoleka Niyabo is still acting and referred to either as Director or Chief Director Defence Reserves.
At the DMV Nontobeko Mafu has been Acting Director General since December 2023. She replaced previous incumbent Irene Mpolweni, suspended in March 2023, who resigned in February 2024.
