EFF accuses Ramaphosa of sending soldiers to DRC to protect mining rights of his 'white friends'

In a charged parliamentary session on Tuesday, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) Member of Parliament (MP) Elsabe Natasha Ntlangwini publicly condemned President Cyril Ramaphosa's recent decision to deploy the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ntlangwini alleged that the operation was primarily designed to safeguard the mining interests of Ramaphosa's ''white friends" rather than genuinely contributing to regional peace.

Her remarks came during a parliamentary meeting where Defence Minister Angie Motshekga, accompanied by Deputy Minister Bantu Holomisa and SANDF Chief General Rudzani Maphwanya, answered MPs' inquiries regarding the soldiers' deployment.

This meeting followed a tragic incident that resulted in the death of 14 SANDF members in an attack that violated a ceasefire agreement.

Motshekga's department promised that the bodies of the 14 soldiers would be back in the country on Wednesday.

"We want the time frame on when the planning landing, at Waterkloof or wherever is. When are they landing here with those bodies?" asked Ntlangwini, referring to the anticipated return of the soldiers' remains.

"We want to give our brothers and sisters that have died fighting for only God knows what they were fighting for. We want to give them a dignified send-off," she added.

Ntlangwini, alongside other MPs, demanded clarity about the protracted military engagement in the DRC, viewing it as a potential cover for Ramaphosa's hidden motivations.

“We need an inquiry; people's heads need to roll; people need to take responsibility. It can't be business as usual... And you still don’t know how many are likely to perish because your answers here today haven’t been satisfactory at all and it's quite disappointing," she said.

In response to the allegations, Minister Motshekga defended the SANDF’s role, asserting that the troops were deployed under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and not solely as a South African mission.

“This was a SADC mission, not a South African mission. It’s not us as South Africa who are in the DRC, but we are there as part of a bigger mission,” Motshekga explained.

Motshekga said if MPs were not satisfied with her answers, there was nothing else she could do.

"I will not repeat the answers that I've given to some of the questions. If members of parliament are not happy with the answers, it's unfortunate because those are the answers we have," she said.

On Monday, following a public spat between Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Ramaphosa, Kagame's spokesperson Yolande Makolo, wrote on X and accused Ramaphosa of sending troops to the DRC to protect his personal interests in mining.

"South Africans deserve to know the truth. You are not supporting the people of DRC to achieve peace. You are sending your troops to fight President Tshisekedi’s war to kill his own people. And this kind of statement only makes the Congolese president more intransigent, while the suffering continues.

"Please tell your people the truth about the personal interests in mining that you have in the DRC – these are the interests for which, sadly, SANDF soldiers are dying," she wrote.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

IOL