A contingent of 249 South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers, part of the now-terminated SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC), was scheduled to touch down in Bloemfontein at midday on Friday. Instead, their arrival was delayed until evening, and they were ultimately rerouted to the Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria.
The first group of #SANDF troops who were deployed to the eastern (#DRC) as part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) have touched down at at Airforce Base #Waterkloof.@TimesLIVE @SundayTimes
Video Supplied pic.twitter.com/smhB38sU1câ€" Shonisani Tshikalange (@21shoni) June 13, 2025
Defence and military veterans minister Angie Motshekga, briefing media at Tempe Military Base in Bloemfontein on Friday afternoon, attributed the disruption to 'technical and logistical challenges' involving the SADC's contracting airline.
But the DA was scathing in its assessment of the situation.
'What was meant to be a dignified homecoming has descended into disarray,' the party said in a statement issued shortly after the failed midday arrival.
'This is yet another example of poor planning. The same kind of failure that plagued SANDF operations in the DRC.'
The party accused the department of orchestrating a media-centric ceremony without ensuring the basics, such as troop arrival, were secured.
'The DA warned that this event was more about spectacle than sincere recognition. Today, those concerns were proved correct. The entire ceremony has turned into a public embarrassment, with soldiers stranded and their supposed heroes' welcome left in ruins.'
While Motshekga stressed that delays were beyond the department's control, the DA said the chaos reflects a pattern of leadership failure in the defence portfolio.
'It is not just a failed media stunt,' the DA said. 'It is a sign of deeper dysfunction within the Department of Defence. Repeated logistical failures, both abroad and at home, raise serious questions about leadership and competence at the highest levels.'
The disarray in Bloemfontein came just a day after the SADC Secretariat formally began the second phase of troop withdrawal from the DRC, with personnel being repatriated through Rwanda and Tanzania.
The mission was launched in December 2023 with an offensive mandate to push back M23 rebels, but it faced persistent operational hurdles.
In a major setback, M23 rebels seized Goma in January, resulting in the deaths of 18 regional soldiers, 14 of them South African. Since then, SAMIDRC troops had mostly remained confined to their bases until the mission's formal end in March.
The disorganised welcome on Friday has only added fuel to long-standing parliamentary scrutiny over SANDF's overseas deployments.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
