Limpopo Family Mourns Breadwinner Among 14 SANDF Soldiers Killed in DRC

• Five families of the 14 South African National Defence Force members who perished in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been buried in Limpopo
• The soldiers died during an ambush that the M23 rebels launched while capturing the Goma airport in January 2025
• South Africans were shattered by their loss and prayed for the family to receive strength during difficult times

Tebogo Mokwena, a dedicated Briefly News current affairs journalist, contributed coverage of international and local social issues like health, corruption, education, unemployment, labour, service delivery protests and immigration in South Africa during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.

MASHISHIMALE, LIMPOPO — Corporal Matume Malesa's relatives mourned that they lost their breadwinner as he and four other South African National Defence Force (SANDF) were buried in Limpopo on 22 February 2025. They were part of the 14 SANDF members who were killed during an M23 ambush in January.

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SANDF member buried in Mashishimale

According to SABC News, Corporal Matume Malesa, one of the members who was killed, was his family's breadwinner and the family mourned that they lost their only source of income. His fellow soldiers attended the funeral and members of the community also bade him farewell.

What happened to Malesa?

Corporal Malesa was one of the soldiers who were killed when M23 rebels ambushed the SANDF forces at Goma Airport. The SANDF was under-resourced and had run out of ammunition when the attack took place.

The SANDF forces were part of the Southern African Development Community peacekeeping deployment to the Eastern DRC, where M23 rebels are battling for the eastern region of the country. Their bodies were repatriated on 14 February after a delay.

Since President Cyril Ramaphosa deployed 2,900 soldiers in 2024, political parties have called for the army to be recalled. Minister of International Relations Ronald Lamola said a withdrawal would be suicidal as they are surrounded by various rebel groups fighting alongside M23.

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What you need to know about the SANDF in DRC

• The SANDF denied that their forces surrendered after a video of the SANDF members waving a white flag went viral in February
• The Southern African Development Community and the East African Community called for a ceasefire in the DRC during a summit held on 9 February
• Calls for Defence Minister Angie Motshekga to resign as Defence Minister mounted after she was spotted laughing during a sitting in Parliament to discuss the DRC crisis
• Economic Freedom Fighters president Julius Malema called for the soldiers to be withdrawn from the conflict and the Democratic Alliance's Helen Zille agreed
• A Western Cape family feared for the safety of their relative, who is deployed in the DRC, and said they had not heard from him
• Rwandan President Paul Kagame accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of deploying the SANDF to the DR to protect his mineral interests

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Presidency denies SANDF deployment is for minerals

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the presidency slammed Rwandan president Paul Kagame's claims that the SANDF is deployed in the DRC to protect President CtyrilRanaphosa's mineral interests. This was after Kagame and his spokesperson slammed Ramaphosa and made the accusation.

The presidency clarified that the SANDF had been deployed as part of the SADC deployment, and has been deployed to peacekeeping missions on the continent for decades.

Source: Briefly News