The SA National Defence Force (SANDF) will this year mark Armed Forces Day (AFD) – 21 February – in Limpopo’s Thohoyandou, capital of the erstwhile Venda.
There was no formal AFD last year in the wake of 14 South African soldier deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) while deployed on a southern African regional bloc peacekeeping mission. This publication was informed by Defence Corporate Communication (DCC) last May AFD 2026 “remains on schedule with plans ongoing to find a suitable venue in the Gauteng province”.
That’s not going to happen with the Limpopo town, home to 15 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion, now named AFD 2026 host.
So far indications are AFD will take the form of a parade preceded by a wreath laying with SANDF Commander-in-Chief President Cyril Ramaphosa in attendance. He will, according to DCC, lay a wreath in commemoration of all SANDF soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty, both internally and externally, including those who perished aboard the SS Mendi troopship that sank on 21 February 1917 after it collided with a large cargo steamship, Darro, in the English Channel south of the Isle of Wight.
South Africa first commemorated the Mendi sinking (in which more than 600 SA Native Labour corpsmen died) in 2010 at the Thaba Tshwane military sports ground. Rain saw the event hastily moved to the nearby Thaba Tshwane town hall.
AFD was marked again in 2013 with Atteridgeville in the Tshwane metro and its Mendi memorial selected to host the commemoration. Armed Forces Day 2014 was held in Bloemfontein, followed by Potchefstroom in 2015 as each province received a turn to host. The 2016 event saw Armed Forces Day grow into a week of military events and activities with Port Elizabeth selected as the venue and the SA Navy as the host service.
The 2017 event, with the added lustre of coinciding with the centenary of the SS Mendi sinking, was held in Durban with the SA Army the host service. The next year’s event was hosted by Kimberley, followed by Cape Town in 2019, and Polokwane in 2020. The 2021 edition was scaled down due to COVID-19, with President Cyril Ramaphosa delivering a speech and laying a wreath at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town. The 2022 event was held in Mbombela (Nelspruit) and the 2023 edition in Richards Bay. There was no 2024 edition due to budget constraints.
The event has grown into a week-long one with career advice a feature alongside military skills demonstrations, including parachuting and flypasts.
While there has been criticism of the spend on AFD, military watchers, including Helmoed Heitman, see it as a good form of training, specifically regarding logistics and moving personnel and equipment across the country.
