Good heavens! What are these military types doing? So much for 'keeping the peace'!
SA peacekeepers are facing 117 charges
November 13 2006 at 04:28AM
By Karyn Maughan and Alex Eliseev
A South African National Defence Force soldier's drug habit resulted in the public throat-slitting of a Sudanese man found guilty of selling him dagga. Rifleman Tobani Chiliza's purchase from a Sudanese man in a Kuturi town market in July last year led to the seller's execution. And while Chiliza has been discharged from the army, The Star has established that at least 80 SANDF peacekeepers on foreign missions are facing 117 charges - 48 of them criminal, ranging from murder to tampering with human organs.
'We can't speculate on what happened there'
An investigation by The Star has revealed that criminal cases recorded by the military's legal services department, as of November 1 this year, include murder, culpable homicide, assault, indecent assault, theft, intimidation, fraud and public indecency. Army spokesperson Colonel Petrus Motlhabane confirmed that Chiliza had been discharged, but was stationed back home at 14 South African Infantry Battalion pending an appeal.
But the man who sold Chiliza the dagga - for whom the SANDF says it is unable to provide a name or age - wasn't as lucky. "This office (Chief Military Legal Services) has been notified, via the operational reporting channel, that the local Sudanese soldier who sold the dagga to Rifleman Chiliza was tried according to Sudanese law, found guilty and as punishment was executed by having his throat slit," military correspondence noted. In another case, a lieutenant, Lawrence Tiro Toolo, was armed and deployed to Burundi, despite being out on bail on a murder charge in KwaZulu-Natal.
'We can't have this kind of reputation'
There are also eight cases of "unspecified" offences and a reported violation of the Human Tissues Act (in place to govern organ donation and transplants). The army is also processing more than 300 investigations into irregularities, accidents, acts of negligence, misconduct and deaths among its peacekeepers.In Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo alone, SANDF personnel have been involved in 125 vehicle accidents, in which eight locals were killed and two children injured. The accident list includes a UN Casspir armoured vehicle that reportedly "ran over a chemical toilet" and the destruction of a DRC house by an out-of-control tank. Inquiries have also been opened into the following:
A rifleman who shot five of his colleagues, killing one, before shooting himself. It is understood that, prior to the incident, the man had sought permission to return home for a "cleansing ritual" (May 20 2005).
Why a Burundian woman was flown into South Africa on a military plane, allegedly to explore business interests in the country (2006).
How naked photos of a female corporal in the DRC last year came to be used as a commander's computer screen-saver (2006).
In response to the charges still pending against SANDF soldiers, military spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said the military maintained that it was committed to the highest standards of discipline. Responding to The Star's questions about how Toolo was deployed to Burundi despite facing murder charges, Mkhwanazi said the matter was under investigation. "We can't speculate on what happened there... because the joint operations department is still investigating that." When Toolo failed to pitch up for his trial in the Dukuza Circuit Court in Bergville, it was postponed to early next month. The state made a formal request for the soldier to be repatriated in November 2005. The SANDF has not yet confirmed whether Toolo has returned to South Africa.
Flight-Sergeant Flippie Venter, who has been sentenced to an effective 10 years' jail for murdering his two children and attempting to kill his wife at a local military base, is set to go on trial in Burundi for allegedly killing a 14-year-old Burundian girl. Mkhwanazi said the SANDF was not in a position to comment on ongoing legal matters. Meanwhile, in a move that contradicts a memorandum of understanding between the DRC and South Africa, DRC justice authorities have issued a summons on an SANDF soldier accused of attempting to stab a local man. SANDF authorities informed their DRC counterparts that they had disciplined Lieutenant Tshepo Tshabane, who is stationed in South Africa, but a summons was still issued from the DRC against Tshabane on November 2. Mkhwanazi said he was not aware of the summons and declined to comment on whether this move was an indictment of the SANDF's handling of criminal cases against its members. He said the Defence Department would work with the Department of Foreign Affairs to "get legal advice... particularly on the issues of foreign policy involved here".
The South African ambassador in the DRC, Sisa Ngombane, admitted he has had to deal with cases of peacekeepers landing in trouble, but he maintained they were the "backbone" of the mission. There are around 2 000 SANDF soldiers stationed in the DRC. Ngombane has addressed the South African troops to inform them that bad behaviour would not be tolerated. His message was: "We can't have this kind of reputation."
This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on November 13, 2006
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