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Daily Maverick
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Twelve years on, families of soldiers killed in Battle of Bangui call for accountability
It has been 12 years since 15 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers died in and after the Battle of Bangui in the Central African Republic in March 2013. After years of broken promises, the families, desperate for answers, are once again calling on the government to provide answers. On 23 March 2013, 200 soldiers from an elite SANDF unit deployed to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), clashed with 7,000 Seleka rebels in a desperate battle that lasted several hours. The fierce encounter, later dubbed the Battle of Bangui, resulted in the deaths of 15 soldiers, a ceasefire, and the withdrawal of the remaining troops from a deployment that has since been shrouded in controversy. The nation has since moved on from the deadly clash, with the SANDF and government shifting focus to other contentious deployments elsewhere on the continent. However, for the families who lost loved ones in the Battle of Bangui, unfulfilled promises and unanswered questions from the Ministry of Defence and the South African government remain a daily reminder of their profound loss. After years of government silence, the families of the fallen soldiers have penned an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Defence Minister Angie Motshekga, and the South African government, demanding accountability. Chief among the families' frustrations is the lack of transparency around the deployment to CAR. Former president Jacob Zuma sent the SANDF's crack unit to assist then-president François Bozizé's forces in their fight against the Seleka rebels. Zuma made this decision without explaining why the troops were sent and without the authorisation of either the United Nations or the African Union — raising concerns over a breach of international law. The SANDF conducted a Board of Inquiry to investigate the battle and the deaths of the soldiers. However, the findings were never made public, and the details remained a mystery until author and journalist Warren Thompson won a legal battle in 2024 to access the Board of Inquiry's outcome. In May 2024, the court ordered the SANDF to release the report, but the families say they had still not received any of its findings. 'We demand transparency regarding the Memorandum of Understanding that governed this deployment, and the publication of the Board of Inquiry's findings. An open commission of inquiry into this matter is long overdue,' the families stated. 'As families, we crave closure and accountability. We deserve to know the truth about what transpired, even if it's painful. The ongoing court battles between the SANDF and the authors of the book The Battle of Bangui only add to our frustration and confusion.' Unfulfilled promises 'After the tragic loss of our loved ones, the SANDF and government officials made numerous promises to honour their memory and support us. However, these promises have proven to be empty words,' the families said. They explained that the government had pledged to erect a monument, rename government buildings, and produce a documentary to honour the fallen soldiers — none of which, they allege, has happened. In 2017, during a meeting with Zuma, CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadéra promised to build a monument in his country to honour the 15 soldiers killed in the battle. However, it remains unclear whether the monument was ever erected. The families also noted that former defence minister Thandi Modise had promised compensation for the loss of their loved ones — another promise they say never materialised. In 2023, Modise claimed in a written response to parliamentary questions from Democratic Alliance MP Kobus Marais that all affected families had received payouts. Battle of Bangui widow speaks out 'They are avoiding us. It's as if they want to force us into silence, whether we like it or not – but we refuse to be treated this way. This is the mentality we are fighting against,' said Kelebogile Bojane, the widow of Rifleman Bojane, in an interview with Daily Maverick. Bojane said the families of those who fell in the Battle of Bangui had made multiple attempts to reach out to the president and the Ministry of Defence, to no avail. She said the government had ceased all communication with the families, which is why they decided to write an open letter. On the issue of compensation, Bojane said that while the families had received a lump sum payment of R200,000, none of them had received the widow's pension to which they are entitled under the Military Pensions Act. 'When we asked about additional compensation, they said the deployment had no budget – but if there was no budget, why were our husbands sent there? And if there is a budget now, why can't we be paid?' Bojane asked. The SANDF's refusal to assist the families of the fallen soldiers has raised many questions for Bojane, chief among them being whether the deployment was lawful. 'We demand the establishment of a commission of inquiry, and it must be public so that we can obtain the details and find closure regarding what really happened. We're not simply going to forget. We lost husbands, we lost lives. They assume we should just move on – but if we forget, who do we hold accountable?' she said. The refusal to release the findings of the SANDF Board of Inquiry only further fuels the families' suspicions. 'Why are they not releasing it? What is it that they are hiding? They claim the deployment was based on a memorandum of understanding with the Central African Republic, but why can't they give us the findings? We need access to those documents. We need to know what happened. We deserve to know, and we are more entitled than anyone else,' Bojane said. Daily Maverick reached out to the Department of Defence and the Presidency for comment but did not receive a reply by the time of publication. The families are now calling on the government to: Conduct an open commission of inquiry into the deployment of troops to the Central African Republic in 2013. Publish the findings of the Board of Inquiry to provide the facts and recommendations that support the government's version of events, rather than leaving families to rely on hearsay. Provide evidence of compensation paid to the families, as former Defence Minister Thandi Modise indicated in her written parliamentary response. Fulfil the promises made to the families, including the construction of a monument and the renaming of government buildings. Produce the promised documentary about the Battle of Bangui. 'Our children will inherit this painful trauma that continues to be ignored, as though our loss meant nothing. We demand action, transparency, and accountability. It's time for the government to honour its commitments and provide us with the closure we deserve,' the families said. DM
Mail & Guardian
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Why Pope Francis's papacy mattered for Africa
Pope Francis. (File photo) The death of Pope Francis in an Italian hospital The first pope from the Americas and also the first to come from outside the west in the modern era, Pope Francis was elected leader of the Catholic church on 13 March 2013. By the time the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013 there was a general feeling that the Catholic church was reaching the end of an era. At the time, the church was beset by crises, from Some of the challenges facing the church which the ageing Pope Benedict XVI could no longer handle included: the readmission of a mounting evidence of multiple cases of the Moreover, the church was reeling from the revelation of The revelations caused the church a great deal of embarrassment. It meant therefore that Cardinal Bergoglio was elected by the Catholic cardinals with a mandate to clean up the church and reform the Vatican and its bureaucracy. He was to institute processes and procedures for transparency, accountability and renewal of the church and its structures, and address the lingering scandals of clerical abuse. The Pope's global legacy Three key things defined his papal role and legacy. First is concentrating on the core competence of the church: serving the poor and the marginalised. This is what the founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ, did. Francis focused the Catholic church and the entire world on one mission: helping the poor, addressing global inequalities, speaking for the voiceless, and placing the attention of the world on those on the periphery. He also chose to live simply, forsaking the pomp and pageantry of the papacy. Secondly, he changed the way the Catholic church's message is communicated. In his programmatic document, His central message was that of mercy towards all, an end to wars, our common humanity and the closeness of God to those who suffer. The suffering in the world continues to grow because of injustice, greed, selfishness and pride. He also focused on symbols and simple style to press home his message, like In 2015 he made a risky trip to Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, during a time of war and tension between the fighting factions of the Muslim Seleka and the Christian anti-balaka. He drove on the Popemobile with both the highest ranking Muslim cleric in the country and his Christian counterpart and visited both a Christian church and a mosque to press home the message of peace. The third strategy was restructuring the church and reforming the Vatican bank. He created the G8 (a representative council of cardinals from every part of the world) to advise him, calling the Catholic church to a synod for dialogue on every aspect of the life of the church. This effort was unprecedented. He also overhauled the procedures for the synod of bishops, making it more participatory, and gave women and the non-ordained voting rights. He shook up the membership of the Vatican department that picks bishops to include women. He Pope Francis and Africa The pontiff's legacy will be keenly felt in Africa. Three things stand out. First, he reflected the concerns of people on the continent with his message against imperialism, colonialism, exploitation of the poor by the rich, global inequality, neo-liberal capitalism and ecological injustice. Pope Francis became a voice for Africa. When he visited Kenya in 2015, he chose to visit the slums of Nairobi to proclaim the gospel of liberation to the forsaken of society. He called on African governments to guarantee for the poor and all citizens access to land, lodging and labour. In a sense, Pope Francis embodied the message of decolonisation and was driven in part by the liberation theology that developed in Latin America. This theology tied religious faith with liberation of the people from structures of injustice and structural violence. Secondly, he encouraged African Catholics to develop Africa's own unique approach to pastoral life and addressing social issues in Africa. Particularly, Pope Francis believed in decentralisation and local processes in meeting local challenges. He said many times that it is not necessary that all problems in the church be solved by the pope at the Roman centre of the church. In this way, he encouraged the growth and development of African priorities and cultural adaptation to the Catholic faith. He also encouraged greater transparency and accountability among African bishops and gave African Catholic universities and seminaries greater autonomy to develop their own educational priorities and programmes. Thirdly, Pope Francis had a very deep connection to Africa's young people. He encouraged and supported For the first time in history, on 1 November 2022, Pope Francis met virtually with more than 1,000 young Africans for an hour. I helped organise this meeting. He answered their questions and encouraged them to fight for what they believe. A reformist agenda The reforms of Pope Francis could be termed a movement – from a church of a few where priests and bishops and the pope call the shots to a church of the people of God where everyone's voice matters and where everyone's concerns and needs are catered to. He quietly changed the tone of the message and the style of the leadership at the Vatican. Granted, he did not substantially alter the content of that message, which is often seen as conservative, Eurocentric, and resistant to cultural pluralism and social change. But he constantly chipped away at its foundations through inclusion and an openness to hearing the voices of everyone, including those who do not agree with the church's position. In doing this, he shifted the priorities and practices of the Catholic church regarding such core issues as power and authority. Pope Francis opened the doors to the voices of the marginalised in the church — women, the poor, the LGBTQI+ community, and those who have disaffiliated from the church. Many African Catholics would love to see more African representation at the Vatican, and many of them also worry about the widening division in the church, particularly driven by cultural and ideological battles in the west that have nothing to do with the social and ecclesial context of Africa. Why his papacy mattered Pope Francis was the first pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit pope, the first to choose the name Francis and the first to come from outside the west in the modern era. He chose the name Francis because he wanted to focus his papacy on the poor, In a sense, Pope Francis redefined what religion and spirituality mean for Catholicism. It's not laying down and enforcing the law without mercy, it is caring for our neighbours and the Earth. This is the kind of religion the world needs today. This article was first published by
