Latest news with #PrinceTshabalala
Eyewitness News
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
UN Peacekeeping Day: SANDF honours fallen soldiers killed in DRC
JOHANNESBURG - The South African Defence Force (SANDF) will honuor 14 soldiers who died on assignment in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a wreath-laying ceremony in Bloemfontein on Thursday. This in line with the global commemoration of United Nations Peacekeeping Day. The annual event seeks to honour military, police and civilian peacekeepers who have contributed to creating a more equal and just world. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will also be laying a wreath at the peacekeepers memorial in New York, in the United States to honor troops globally. More than 4000 fallen heroes and heroines have died since the first peacekeeping mission was established in 1948. READ: SANDF to honour 14 soldiers who died in DRC on UN Peacekeeping Day Their sacrifices will be honoured and celebrated globally for their pursuit of fostering peace in war-ridden countries. South Africa will remember 14 fallen soldiers during the conflict between the eastern DRC government and rebel group M23. "The South African National Defence Force takes a moment to reflect and honour its heroes and heroines. We do this annually in partnership with the United Nations to commemorate and they come here with their special representative here in South Africa and to ensure that we are still revived in terms of the message of ensuring that there is regional peace and stability in the continent," said SANDF spokesperson, Prince Tshabalala.
News24
10-05-2025
- News24
SANDF arrests five men, warns against criminal activity near military bases
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has warned civilians that its military bases were 'sanctuaries of national security and not safe harbours for criminals'. The stern warning comes after soldiers apprehended five suspects believed to be involved in a criminal syndicate targeting civilian vehicles in and outside military establishments. In a statement issued on Friday, the Department of Defence said the suspects were caught using the area in the vicinity of Tek Base in Tshwane 'as a sanctuary for their illegal operations'. A video of the incident went viral on social media. Defence spokesperson Rear Admiral Prince Tshabalala said on 4 May, vigilant members of Tek Base recovered a white Toyota Fortuner that was suspected to have been stolen near the SA Army Engineers Formation. READ | How budget cuts and strategic challenges undermine SANDF's peacekeeping capacity The prompt intervention by the members of Tek Base, along with the coordination between SAPS and the Military Police, led to the arrest of five men. 'These suspects were also found in possession of a second vehicle, a white Kia with falsified licence discs, raising further suspicions of an organised illegal vehicle syndicate,' Tshabalala added. The vehicles were impounded for further forensic investigation. 'The soldiers who attended and managed the scene with professionalism and bravery are a true embodiment of the SANDF discipline and duty calling.' He added that military bases were protected zones and that civilians found within or near military facilities engaging in criminal conduct would face the full might of the law.
IOL News
09-05-2025
- IOL News
Wrong turn: Thieves tried to steal cars at Thaba Tshwane military base and were tackled by soldiers
The SANDF said five criminals based in Mamelodi attempted to steal civilian vehicles at Thaba Tshwane military base and were confronted by soldiers, before the suspects were arrested by the SA Police Service. Soldiers The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has commended the 'swift and decisive' action by soldiers who apprehended five alleged thieves believed to be members of a criminal syndicate targeting civilian vehicles in and outside military establishments. SANDF spokesperson, Rear Admiral Prince Tshabalala said the criminals were caught while using the vicinity of Tek Base, at Thaba Tshwane military base, as a sanctuary for their illegal operations. 'On Sunday, 4 May 2025, vigilant members of Tek Base acted promptly on intelligence and reports from military police personnel. A white Toyota Fortuner suspected to be stolen, was discovered near the engineering formation. The prompt intervention by the members of Tek Base, along with the coordination between the South African Police Service and the Military Police, led to the arrest of five males,' said Tshabalala. These cornered suspects were also found in possession of a second vehicle, a white Kia with fake licence discs, raising further suspicions of an organized illegal vehicle syndicate. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel. 'The suspects, identified as residents of Mamelodi, were placed under arrest by SAPS Lyttelton, and detained. The vehicles in question have been impounded for further forensic investigation,' he said.
Jordan Times
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Jordan Times
S.Africa repatriates more than 120 soldiers from DR Congo
A member of the M23 movement looks on during an enrollment of civilians, police officers, and former members of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo who allegedly decided to join the M23 movement voluntarily in Goma Sunday (AFP photo) JOHANNESBURG — South Africa completed Wednesday the evacuation of 127 troops from the front lines of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, four of whom were critically wounded, the military said. Twenty-one soldiers returned Tuesday and 106 more on Wednesday, South Africa National Defence Force [SANDF] spokesman Prince Tshabalala said. They were part of a mission deployed by the 16-nation Southern African Development Community [SADC] bloc in 2023 to support the DRC government in the east, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has made significant territorial gains. "We have admitted four patients [who are] critical," Tshabalala said. Seventeen others had moderate injuries. Some of the others who returned required "psychological and social intervention". The injured soldiers had received treatment in DRC hospitals and travelled through Rwanda for the evacuation, Tshabalala told AFP. Calls have been mounting for the entire South African contingent to return home after 14 soldiers were killed in the conflict late January. Most of the 14 were part of the SADC mission but at least two were members of a separate UN-mandated peacekeeping force. South Africa had deployed more than 1,000 soldiers in the DRC, according to reports and analysts, although officials have not given precise numbers. It dominates the SADC force, which includes smaller numbers of soldiers from Malawi and Tanzania. The centre-right Democratic Alliance [DA] party, a coalition partner in the government of national unity, and the radical-left Economic Freedom Fighters [EFF] have in a rare unison called for the "immediate" withdrawal of the troops. The M23 group has gained control of the South Kivu provincial capital, Bukavu, and Goma, the main city in the country's perennially volatile east. More than 7,000 people have been killed in the fighting since January, DRC Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka said Monday, although AFP has not been able to verify the figures.
