By Erika Gibson.
A team from the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) left for Pemba in Mozambique on Friday to investigate an incident in which the bodies of alleged rebels were burnt, the images of which were shared on social media.
The video, showing soldiers throwing bodies on to a burning pile of rubbish, was shared last week. Two unidentified soldiers were shown throwing another body on to the fire, while an SANDF member was seen briefly on the screen.
Major General Sandile Hlongwa, commander of joint operations headquarters in Pretoria, told City Press that representatives from the defence information unit, the joint operations and the army’s legal department were part of the team.
Asked if at least one South African special forces soldier, recognisable by his uniform in the video, would be sent home, Hlongwa said a decision would be made once more facts were obtained. It was still not clear who gave the soldiers the order to burn the bodies.
The video, believed to have been recordered by a soldier attached to the Southern African Development Community mission in Mozambique, made the headlines last week. Two soldiers can be seen hurling a corpse on to a pile where several other bodies, equipment, pots and pans lay.
The 1949 Geneva Convention prohibits the violation of dead soldiers’ bodies. However, it also stipulates that the burning of corpses can be considered for hygienic reasons only.
According to sources who follow the skirmishes between the insurgents and the Mozambican forces, the video was most likely taken shortly after a joint force attack on one of the insurgents’ bases close to Nkonga village, one of the strongholds of the jihadist in Cabo Delgado province.
The insurgents had reportedly attacked a Mozambican army control post in the area. The insurgents reportedly shot down one of the Samim drones, while a soldier each from the Tanzanian and Botswana armies was killed in the same skirmish.
The same group of insurgents was reported to have also attacked a convoy of Mozambican soldiers shortly before the incidents. Samim defeated the group in a retaliatory attack and the bodies were allegedly burnt after that. Namibian President Hage Geingob condemned the incident after the video went viral.
More than 4 000 people have been killed and 800 000 displaced due to the insurgency that started in 2017. The citizens blame the discovery of natural gas and rubies – and bad governance – for the conflict.
Meanwhile military bosses are investigating a request made for army support bases to allegedly each contribute R25 000 of their funds to buy a R900 000 caravan as a birthday gift for the unit’s general commanding officer, Major-General Mzikayise Joseph Tyhalisi.
According to Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise, the probe is still underway after allegations were made last year.
Modise was responding to a written Parliamentary question from DA MP Kobus Marais, who wanted details on the investigation into the matter.
Marais also asked… “whether any investigation has been conducted into the specified alleged spending intended for the daily rations of men and women in uniform, part of which apparently was appropriated from the defence budget at R128 per day for each person; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details.”
Regarding the investigation involving Tyhalisi, Modise said the matter is currently with the Inspector General of the department to start with a forensic investigation.