Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

Dans la série, "l'Afrique du sud est un grand mystère pour moi..." et je ne suis pas prêt d'y comprendre quelque chose...

La campagne des présidentielles sud-africaines de 2009 s’achèvera…dès décembre 2007

L’élection d’un nouveau président en Afrique du Sud qui aura lieu en 2009 sera sans suspense car l’heureux élu sera connu depuis 2007 ! Cette étrangeté est due au fait que l’ANC aura encore la majorité dans le pays en 2009, que le président de l’ANC est le candidat à l’élection présidentielle et que ce président sera élu lors d’un congrès du parti en décembre 2007. La campagne électorale de 2009 n’étant qu’une formalité, la vraie bataille politique se livre maintenant et l’élection de décembre s’annonce tendue.

Sont sur les rangs pour la présidence : Thabo Mbeki – président à deux mandats qui en brigue un troisième, ce qui est constitutionnellement interdit –, Jacob Zuma – ex-vice-président, limogé par Mbeki et connu pour une affaire de corruption avec la société Thalès –, et Tokyo Sewalle – un richissime homme d’affaires de l’ANC qui fait un come-back politique remarqué. Alors que chacun fait sa campagne (combien de bataillons dans la ligue des femmes, des jeunes, des anciens combattants de l’ANC ?), Jacob Zuma, populiste zoulou, part favori. S’il venait à être élu, on assisterait de 2007 à 2009 à une cohabitation à la sud-africaine entre un chef de parti et un chef de gouvernement qui se détestent cordialement. Situation totalement inédite dans l’histoire de l’ANC.

Aucun blanc n'est candidat... Mbéki, moi, je ne l'aime pas. je sais, je ne suis qu'une invitée dans ce pays et je devrais me taire mais rappelons qu'il a traité les bushmen (MES bushmen!!) de sous-hommes et de honte de l'Afrique du Sud... alors que les ancêtres de Mbéki n'étaient pas encore arrivés en Afrique du sud que mes Bushmen y vivaient depuis longtemps. bref, Mbéki, je ne le sens pas et les deux autres escrocs non plus d'ailleurs. lol

Par prudence, la direction du parti a fait réaliser un audit du nombre exact de membres par branches. Le nombre de chaque délégation provinciale du parti dépend du nombre d’adhérents dans la province et, dans l’ambiance actuelle, la tentation est grande de bidouiller les chiffres… Rendez-vous en décembre 2007 pour connaître le président pour 2009-2014.

The SA Navy has embarked on a secret project to create a partial equivalent of the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service – to patrol Africa’s rivers and coastlines in support of peace-keepers and in pursuit of rebels, terrorists and pirates.

The project, codenamed Xena, is expected to field an operational boat squadron (OBS) consisting of 16 lightly armed patrol boats each, according to Rear Admiral Bernhard Teuteberg, the SA Navy’s chief director of maritime strategy.

A report on Xena by defence analyst Leon Engelbrecht said each unit of about five (more likely four) OBS boats would be supported by “a mobile shore facility, including accommodation and a containerised headquarters fitted with advanced command-and-control equipment”.

Each boat is expected to be just over 10m long, skippered by a naval petty officer, plus a coxswain and two gunners – one operating a fore-mounted .50 calibre machinegun and one a 7.62mm-calibre light machinegun at the stern.

Teuteberg told Saturday Star that the new OBS would form part of the navy’s Maritime Reaction Squadron, formed two years ago. The squadron consists of two other parts: an operational diving team and a reaction force of naval women and men, who will be transported six to a boat.

Teuteberg said the difference between the new South African system and the British was that the Royal Marines were “proper marines who go ashore and secure beach-heads”, whereas in South Africa that function will be performed by conventional navy-transported infantry: Cape Town’s 9 SA Infantry Battalion in either its new “sea landing” or rapid-response roles, backed up by the reserve Cape Town Highlanders.

Whereas the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service is in fact a covert, special-forces outfit, designed to secure harbours and so forth, that role in South Africa is performed by 4 Reconnaissance Regiment, based at Langebaan, Western Cape, and which reports to the chief of joint operations.

Instead, our navy’s OBS will report to Fleet Command in Simon’s Town and have the following roles, Teuteberg said:

l Search-and-rescue, similar to the operation to save the 587 crew and passengers of the Greek liner Oceanos that sank off the Transkei coast in 1991.

l Forming boarding parties to storm enemy ships or merchantmen suspected of poaching or carrying contraband, as with the South African and Australian fisheries officials’ boarding of South American poacher Viarsa 1 in 2003 after a 7 000km chase.

l Patrolling Africa’s lakes and waterways, as with the naval operation of five Namacurra-class patrol boats on Lake Kigali as part of the peacekeeping operation in Burundi.

l Protecting the SA Navy’s four new frigates from the threat of “asymmetrical warfare” by pirates or terrorists, a threat demonstrated by the attack on the USS Cole off Yemen in 2000 by suicide bombers in a small boat packed with explosives.

For two brief periods of its history, South Africa used to have marines. During World War II, 78 South Africans served with the Royal Marines and in 1951 the SA Navy formed its own SA Corps of Marines, which operated the country’s shore batteries and some anti-aircraft batteries. The corps was dissolved when the batteries were mothballed in 1955.

But in 1979 the Marines were re-formed and, aside from harbour protection duties, served during the bush war in South-West Africa/ Namibia, patrolled the Zambezi River, and served as infantry on the border and even in a counter-insurgency role in the townships. When the bush war ended in April 1989, the navy was downscaled and the Marines disbanded again.

Yet now, South Africa’s increased peacekeeping operations in Africa, with SANDF engineers running a ferry across the Congo River, for instance, the need for an OBS to operate on the continent’s rivers and lakes has again come to the fore.

Currently, the SA Navy notes it has “limited OBS capability comprising boats, armaments and a rudimentary communication system that were hastily put together out of items readily available from existing inventory”.

The boats referred to are the Namacurra harbour-patrol boats, which could be refitted to serve as OBS boats – except that they have twin-outboard motors and the navy prefers twin waterjets for its new OBS, so the word is that the navy is out shopping for an entirely new craft.

En Afrique du Sud, le football est un sport de noirs et le rugby, un sport de blancs. C'est comme ça depuis toujours, on n'y peut rien.

Mais le gouvernement a décidé de remeédier à ça: en rugby comme ailleurs, il faudra des joueurs noirs. Au moins 60% comme dans n'importe qu'elle entreprise. lol la discrimination, moi, j'ai toujours trouvé ça con. Il n'y a pas de rugbymen noirs? tant pis. Il en faut 60% dans l'équipe nationale et c'est tout. Qu'on se débrouille...

“I’ve been in the army since 1989 and besides basic training, the only course I’ve been on is a driving course,” says 39-year-old Lance Coporal Daniel Mkwanazi.

“I’m frustrated and humiliated because my career is going nowhere.”

Mkwanazi is one of several black soldiers, who were part of the old South African Defence Force (SADF), who are becoming increasingly disillusioned by their lack of progress in the new South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Many have banded together to form the Soldiers’ Forum (SF) and the Former SADF Members Forum (FSADFMF). Themba Moko of the SF claims to represent about 30 000 soldiers.

They claim that their concerns -- put to Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and President Thabo Mbeki -- have gone unheard and that various attempts to hold public meetings and bring attention to their cause have, in some instances, met with arrests.

The soldiers allege they are being discriminated against “for fighting with the boers” and that, because of their SADF past, they have been overlooked for courses to enhance their careers. They say they have not received adequate training in career planning and are not fairly represented in the top structures of the defence department.

Moko says that former black SADF soldiers have not, as yet, been informed about the findings of a board of inquiry into allegations of unfair treatment of black former SADF soldiers. The inquiry was instituted in 2000.

“In the old SADF we were not allowed to choose the courses we wanted, our career paths were chosen for us by the whites and now it seems we are going nowhere in terms of courses and promotion,” says Moko.

“Integration is life. If we remain as we are we will not get better benefits, we will not be able to support our families properly and what will my pension look like at the end of all this?” asks Mkwanazi.

Moko claims white officers who represented the SADF at the Joint Military Co-ordinating Council (JMCC) between 1993 and 1994, when the foundations were laid for the integration of the SADF, Umkhonto weSizwe, the Azanian People’s Liberation Army and the armies from the former homelands (Transkei, Ciskei, Venda and Bophutatswana) into a single army, did not represent the views and aspirations of black SADF soldiers. “We didn’t have a place at the table,” he says.

He believes that while they were systematically marginalised during apartheid, this has continued in the new dispensation.

The fact that former SADF members still have their old army numbers also exposes them to discrmination and marginalisation when it comes to access to courses that will result in promotion.

The late Rocky Williams, former head of the programme for security sector transformation at the Institute for Security Studies, in the paper, Integration or Absorption -- The Creation of the South African National Defence Force, 1993 to 1999, claims that “the forced design of the new SANDF was largely based on that of the former SADF, and that the strategies, doctrines and procedures remained unaltered (prompting one senior SADF officer at the time to comment that ‘the SADF got more than 80% of what it wanted out of the JMCC process’).

The integration process was to be based on SADF structures and SADF rules and regulations -- a phenomenon that was to undermine the capacity of non-SADF forces to influence the integration process in the initial integration period.”

The old regime’s attitudes, arrogance and racism would have initially carried through into the new army, perhaps entrenching an SADF status quo where black soldiers were marginalised.

Len le Roux, head of the defence sector programme at the ISS, believes the oversight mechanisms in place during integration would have allowed for these sorts of concerns to have been heard much earlier. Le Roux says the existence of a parliamentary integration oversight committeee, a joint standing committee on integration and a ministerial oversight committee “allowed for grievances and disputes to be heard”.

Both Williams and Le Roux believe the resignation of many of the “old guard”, following the farcical coup attempt report by then-defence chief George Meiring, also cleared the upper echelons of the defence force, leading to a “more transformed” one.

Sam Mkhwanazi, spokesperson for the ministry of defence, could not be reached for comment.

On parle souvent d'une Afrique du Sud arc-en-ciel où les blacs et les autres s'entendraient à merveille etc... etc... malheureusement, la réalité est tout autre. les noirs haissent les blanc à un point inimaginable. Moi-même l'auteur de ce blog, je me suis fait brauqer mon sac à main à Durban devant mon hôtel. Je me suis rendue au poste de police: il n'y avait que des noirs et on a refusé de me parler anglais. Et malheureusement, je ne parle pas un mot de zoulou... Je ne crois pas que les noirs pardonneront un jour aux blancs. D'après mon expérience personnelle, je crois que les blancs, qui pourtant sont arrivés bien avant les bantous (les noirs) dans ce qui est aujourd'hui l'Afrique du sud seront obligés de partir ou se feront massacrer... Triste pays...

The funeral service arrangements of seven soldiers killed by a haywire gun at Lohatla have been finalised, said the South African National Defence Force on Thursday. Two of the nine deceased had already been buried.

Spokesman Brigadier General Kwena Mangope said the funeral services would be as follows:

*Bombardier Khangelizwe Liphunah Malaza, 24: to be held on October 27 in Tembisa, Gauteng, at 9am.

Her remains will thereafter be laid to rest during a full military funeral service at the Mooifontein Cemetery. She is survived by her mother, A N Malaza.

*Gunner Rhulani Mihaloti Mtileni, 23: to be held on October 27, in Giyane, Limpopo at 9am.

Her remains will thereafter be laid to rest during a full military funeral service at the Giyane Cemetery. She is survived by her father, Samuel Mtileni.

*Gunner Rudzani Christopher Siphuma, 21: to be held on October 27, in Sibasa Dzimauli Village, Venda, in Limpopo at 9am.

His remains will be laid to rest during a full military funeral service at the Sibasa Dzimauli Cemetery, Venda. He is survived by his father, Simon Siphuma.

*Gunner Thapelo James Nkwana, 21: to be held on October 27, in Atteridgeville, Gauteng, at 8am.

His remains will be laid to rest during a semi-military funeral service, as requested by the family, at the Lotus Gardens Cemetery. He is survived by his mother, Anna Nkwana.

*A combined funeral service for Gunner Botse Seipato, 21, and Gunner Samuel Vusumuzi Siphiwe Nyembe, 22: to be held on October 27, in Mabopane, Gauteng at 7am.

Their remains will be laid to rest during a full military funeral service at the Klipgat Cemetery.

Seipato is survived by his mother, Paulinah Seipato, whilst Nyembe is survived by his sister, Thabisile Nyembe.

*The funeral service of Gunner Sebenzile Veronica Nhlabathi, 20, will be held on October 28, at Ezakheni in Ladysmith, Kwazulu Natal at 10am.

Her remains will be laid to rest during a full military funeral service at the Ezakheni Cemetery. She is survived by her sister, Ms Hlengiwe Nhlabathi.

"Members of the public are advised that the full military funeral services will include three volleys of rifle fire, from 12 rifles -firing blanks," said Mangope.

The defence minister, Mosiuoa Lekota, on behalf of the Department of Defence and the Chief of the SANDF, extended their condolences to the families of the deceased.

Après avoir dirigé le pays à leur profit pendant des décennies, les Blancs ont le choix entre l'intégration dans la nouvelle société multiraciale sud-africaine ou le repli identitaire. Dix ans après la chute du régime d'apartheid, la "tribu blanche d'Afrique", qui représente moins de 10 % de la population, a encore du mal à trouver sa place dans la "nouvelle Afrique du Sud".

Speaking candidly from their family home in Ladysmith, the family said the soldiers were mere trainees and their lives shouldn't have been put in danger by using live ammunition.

Nhlabathi, 20, was one of nine soldiers who died when a 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft gun went haywire during a training exercise. Another 15 soldiers were injured and some lost limbs in the accident at the Lohatlha training grounds near Kimberley nine days ago.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota told the National Assembly that the incident was an accident and said families of the soldiers should refrain from speculation until a high-level board of inquiry, appointed by the South African National Defence Force, had looked into the incident.

The inquiry will be chaired by two retired generals. Prior to the incident, technicians had just finished repairing the weapon.

Walking into the Nhlanbathi family's home last week there was a sense of numbness and disbelief. They are devastated by the death. Three of her aunts, her grandmother and her three elder sisters were mourning in the living room.

They sat on mattresses, with blankets over them, and a candle was burning in the corner to signify their mourning. They struggled to hold back their tears as they talked about their loss.

Sebenzile completed matric in 2004, just 16 years old, with a distinction in geography. She had plans to study social work but due to a lack of money she spent the following two years at home.

One of her older sisters, Nomphumelelo, a nurse, was saving to send Sebenzile to university when the military recruited her.

"Though I was not happy about her working in the military, we accepted it because it took the pressure of saving for her education off us," said Nomphumelelo.

In January Sebenzile wrote a military entrance exam in Durban and a few days later she got a call saying she was being deployed to Kimberley. She left home on January 7.

Her eldest sister, Thobile, said she tried calling Sebenzile after the evening news reported that nine soldiers had died at a training exercise in Kimberley, but her phone was off. She then called Nomphumelelo and told her about the incident and said she couldn't get hold of Sebenzile.

The following morning the sisters tried frantically to get hold of their younger sister, to no avail. Late on Saturday afternoon two representatives from the Ladysmith Military Base went to the family's home to deliver the bad news.

The siblings lost their mother a few years ago and their father died in 1999. They have since been living together in their home in Ladysmith township of eZakheni. Sebenzile was the youngest of four girls.

"Sebenzile had a love for life and there were so many things she wanted to do with her life, I should have rather died in her place," said a devastated Nomphumelelo. A trust fund has been set up in an effort to gain public financial support for the families of the soldiers.

The nine artillery soldiers killed by a haywire gun at Lohatla were on Wednesday hailed as heroes and heroines by South Africa's Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota.

Lekota told a memorial service in their honour in Kimberley the five men and four women had fallen in defence of South Africa's hard-won democracy and for those democracies outside its borders.

"We have lost a part of ourselves in the department of defence," Lekota said.

The minister said the department honoured the contribution the nine had made to ensure the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) was combat-ready to defend democratic freedom in Africa.

The families of eight of the victims were flown in from Waterkloof air base in Pretoria with various senior military staff from SANDF headquarters.

SANDF spokeswoman Major Lize Jansen van Rensburg said the families were financially helped to travel to Pretoria.

"Some came from Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng."

She said the families were helped with accommodation on Tuesday night and were flown by the South African Air Force to Kimberley on Wednesday morning.

The memorial service was led by Chaplain-General Werner Cornelissen of the SANDF at the Alexanderfontein Church.

Addressing members of 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment, who packed the church, Lekota said he was humbled by young men and women who joined the force voluntarily to create better conditions for all in South Africa and its neighbours.

"They will defend this in any way possible... "

Lekota said South African soldiers had been busy with peace and stability tasks in many African countries the past 13 years. This was dangerous and hard work.

"Our members are conscious they might not come back alive."

He said mistakes could happen in their line of work and lead to the death of others.

Lekota told the victims' families the reasons for the accident were still unknown, adding that he was sorry.

The minister again expressed the Department of Defence's condolences with the families and said they would be assisted to work through the trauma.

"You are not alone in your grief. When you join the army you belong not only to your family but to the country."

Lekota also assured the injured that their futures in the government were secure.

Fifteen soldiers were injured in the accident during the country's annual conventional military exercise, Exercise Seboka, on October 12.

A 35mm MK35 anti-aircraft gun started shooting wildly and out of control.

South Africa's first lady Zanele Mbeki, who comforted family members after the memorial service, arrived with Lekota.

Also in attendance were SA National Defence Force chief General Godfrey Ngwenya, army chief General Solly Chauke and other senior military staff. Members of the parliamentary portfolio committee on defence were also present.

Messages of condolences from Northern Cape Premier Dipuo Peters and Sol Plaatjie municipality mayor Patrick Lenyebi were read out.

The warring within the South African National Defence (SANDF) continues. This time the SA National Defence Union (Sandu) won the latest round in the Pretoria high court against the SANDF.

The union obtained an order (by consent) gagging the SANDF from distributing a bulletin claiming that Sandu lied about the latest wage talks.

Judge Ntsikekelo Poswa ordered the Minister of Defence, the Defence Secretary and Chief of the SANDF to remove the bulletin from the website and intranet system of the Department of Defence.

The 17 000-strong Sandu, in an urgent application, approached the court to order the SANDF to immediately stop distributing Bulletin No 00/07, with the headline “Greatest lies ever told by a military trade union”.

The court earlier ordered the SANDF to immediately stop distributing this bulletin, but Sandu’s acting national secretary Johannes Greeff said the SANDF continued to do so.

He stated in court papers that the respondents were thus in contempt of court and asked that each of the parties, the minister included, be fined R15 000.

Sandu, however, did not persist with this, as the SANDF agreed to remove the bulletin.

The contested notice stated that Sandu had lied to its members regarding wage negotiations and that the union said there was a proposed 19% salary increase on the cards, while it was in fact a 7.5% increase.

Sandu denied it tried to mislead its members and said the figures were contained in a concept proposal which it never got to present to the SANDF.

Youngest victim was an orphan with a ‘love for life’

The family of Sebenzile Nhlanbathi, the youngest casualty of the accident in which nine soldiers were killed, hold the defence force responsible for the death of their sister. The family is questioning why live ammunition had to be used in a training exercise.

Speaking candidly from their family home in Ladysmith, the family said the soldiers were mere trainees and their lives shouldn’t have been put in danger by using live ammunition.

Nhlabathi, 20, was one of nine soldiers who died when a 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft gun went haywire during a training exercise. Another 15 soldiers were injured and some lost limbs in the accident at the Lohatlha training grounds near Kimberley nine days ago.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota told the National Assembly that the incident was an accident and said families of the soldiers should refrain from speculation until a high-level board of inquiry, appointed by the South African National Defence Force, had looked into the incident.

The inquiry will be chaired by two retired generals. Prior to the incident, technicians had just finished repairing the weapon.

Walking into the Nhlanbathi family’s home last week there was a sense of numbness and disbelief. They are devastated by the death. Three of her aunts, her grandmother and her three elder sisters were mourning in the living room.

They sat on mattresses, with blankets over them, and a candle was burning in the corner to signify their mourning. They struggled to hold back their tears as they talked about their loss.

Sebenzile completed matric in 2004, just 16 years old, with a distinction in geography. She had plans to study social work but due to a lack of money she spent the following two years at home.

One of her older sisters, Nomphumelelo, a nurse, was saving to send Sebenzile to university when the military recruited her.

“Though I was not happy about her working in the military, we accepted it because it took the pressure of saving for her education off us,” said Nomphumelelo.

In January Sebenzile wrote a military entrance exam in Durban and a few days later she got a call saying she was being deployed to Kimberley. She left home on January 7.

Her eldest sister, Thobile, said she tried calling Sebenzile after the evening news reported that nine soldiers had died at a training exercise in Kimberley, but her phone was off. She then called Nomphumelelo and told her about the incident and said she couldn’t get hold of Sebenzile.

The following morning the sisters tried frantically to get hold of their younger sister, to no avail. Late on Saturday afternoon two representatives from the Ladysmith Military Base went to the family’s home to deliver the bad news.

The siblings lost their mother a few years ago and their father died in 1999. They have since been living together in their home in Ladysmith township of eZakheni. Sebenzile was the youngest of four girls.

“Sebenzile had a love for life and there were so many things she wanted to do with her life, I should have rather died in her place,” said a devastated Nomphumelelo. A trust fund has been set up in an effort to gain public financial support for the families of the soldiers.

I had an uphill battle for compensation, says veteran

A former soldier who was severely injured in an accident while serving in the South African Defence Force in 1980 said it had been an uphill battle to get money from the government.

Mike Morrell, 50, of Monte Vista, said he hoped the survivors of the recent anti-aircraft gun accident at the Lohatla Battle School would be better looked after.

Nine soldiers were killed and 15 seriously wounded when an anti-aircraft gun accidentally emptied its magazines into them during a training exercise earlier this month.

A military board of inquiry into the accident has already begun and Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota has assured the soldiers who were maimed that they would be “looked after” financially.

But Morrell said if his experience was anything to go by, they would have to struggle for every cent.

Morrell, then 22, was serving a compulsory camp at the time of his accident, had his hip smashed when an army truck overturned in an operational area, killing two others.

He was on crutches for four and a half years and has had four operations including a hip replacement.

Morrell, who works as a rep, says he’s been in pain for 28 years and his medical bills have been more than R100 000.

He is unable to play sport, have sex without discomfort or play games with his sons.

“Being in constant pain affects your mood. Often I can’t even stand and I live on painkillers.”

Two years after the accident he received a lump sum payout of R2 040 from Workmen’s Compensation and was granted a military pension. But this was retracted and Morrell had to repay the money at R10 a month.

Last month he started receiving a monthly pension of R1 092 – an amount he says will not go very far.

“If it wasn’t that I have a wealthy father I would not know what to do.”

Morrell said he knew of other former soldiers who had been disabled who were battling on meagre payouts.

Once after the accident he and about 700 other disabled soldiers were flown to Pretoria by the defence force “to show they cared”.

“There were guys in wheelchairs, some missing limbs, others were blind. We were given a certificate but they never really gave a stuff.”

Morrell said billions were spent on arms but soldiers were not looked after when it came to disabilities.

Earlier this week Lekota told the National Assembly that the accident at Lohatla happened immediately after technicians had finished repairing the weapon, a Mark V twin-barrelled 35mm gun. The damage was done in a one-eighth of a second burst.

Explaining the circumstances of last Friday’s incident, Lekota said the training exercise had involved eight guns positioned 20m apart in a line. Each gun had a crew of four.

The targets were between 1.5km and 2km away.

“As all guns commenced firing, the gun on the far right of the line ... had a stoppage. This is something that happens from time to time.

“Technicians repaired this gun, while all the other guns continued firing. This is a very normal drill.

“As they continued firing, after the gun was fixed, it swung completely to the left, and one barrel fired a burst of 15 to 20 shots in an eighth of a second.

“The ... gun immediately to the left was hit. The fatal burst killed or injured members of all guns to the left.

“All those killed or injured were hit from the right and lost right hands, or right legs, or lost their lives.”

Lekota said the eight guns had been used the day before, “and each successfully fired between 500 and 800 rounds”.

Lekota said an investigation into the accident was being carried out by the SA Police Service and forensic experts. A defence force inquiry, chaired by two retired generals, would also be held. The results would be made public as soon as possible.

SA Navy’s latest project aims to support peace-keepers along Africa’s rivers and coastline.

The South African Navy has embarked on a project to create a partial equivalent of the Royal Marines’ Special Boat Service with which to patrol Africa’s rivers and coastlines in support of peace-keepers and in pursuit of rebels, terrorists and pirates.

The project, code-named Xena, is expected to field an Operational Boat Squadron (OBS) consisting of 16 lightly armed patrol boats, according to Rear Admiral Bernhard Teuteberg, the Navy’s chief director of maritime strategy.

A report on Xena by defence analyst Leon Engelbrecht said each unit of about five (more likely four) OBS boats would be supported by “a mobile shore facility, including accommodation and a containerised headquarters fitted with advanced command-and-control equipment”.

Each boat is expected to be just over 10m long, skippered by a naval petty officer, plus a coxswain and two gunners, one operating a fore-mounted .50 calibre machine-gun and one a 7.62mm calibre light machine-gun at the stern.

Teuteberg said the new OBS would form part of the Navy’s Maritime Reaction Squadron, formed two years ago. The squadron consists of two other parts: an Operational Diving Team; and a Reaction Force of naval women and men, partly equivalent to the Royal Marines, who will be transported six to a boat.

Teuteberg said the difference between the new South African system and the British was that the Royal Marines were “proper marines who go ashore and secure beach-heads”, whereas in South Africa, that function will be performed by conventional Navy-transported infantry: Cape Town’s 9 SA Infantry Battalion in either its new “sea-landing” or rapid-response roles, backed up by the reserve Cape Town Highlanders.

And whereas the Royal Marines’ autonomous Special Boat Service is in fact a covert, special forces outfit, designed to secure harbours and so forth, that role in South Africa is performed by 4 Reconnaissance Regiment at Langebaan which reports directly to the Chief of Joint Operations.

Instead, our navy’s OBS will report to Fleet Command in Simon’s Town and have the following roles, Teuteberg said:

l Search-and-rescue, similar to the operation to save the 587 crew and passengers of the Greek liner Oceanos which sank off the Transkei coast in 1991.

l Forming boarding-parties to storm enemy ships – or merchantmen suspected of poaching or carrying contraband, as with the SA and Australian fisheries officials’ boarding of South American poacher Viarsa 1 in 2003 after a 7 000km chase.

l Patrolling Africa’s lakes and waterways, as with the naval operation of five Namacurra-class patrol boats on Lake Kigali as part of the peace-keeping operation in Burundi.

l Protecting the Navy’s four new frigates from the threat of “asymmetrical warfare” by pirates or terrorists, a threat demonstrated by the attack on the USS Cole off Yemen in 2000 by suicide-bombers in a small boat packed with explosives.

For two brief periods of its history, South Africa used to have Marines. During World War 2, 78 South Africans served with the Royal Marines and in 1951, the Navy formed its own SA Corps of Marines which operated the country’s shore batteries and some anti-aircraft batteries. The Marines were dissolved when the batteries were mothballed in 1955.

But in 1979, the Marines were reformed and, aside from harbour-protection duties, served during the Bush War in South-West Africa/Namibia, patrolled the Zambezi River, served as infantry on the border, and even in a counter-insurgency role in townships.

When the Bush War ended in April 1989, the Navy was downscaled and the Marines disbanded again. Yet now, South Africa’s increased peace-keeping operations in Africa, with SANDF engineers running a ferry across the Congo River, for instance, the need for an OBS to operate on the continent’s rivers and lakes has again come to the fore.

Currently, the Navy noted that it has “a limited OBS capability comprising boats, armament and a rudimentary communication system”.

The boats referred to are the Namacurra harbour-patrol boats, which could be refitted to serve as OBS boats – except that they have twin outboard motors and the Navy prefers twin waterjets for its new OBS, so word is the Navy is out shopping for an entirely new craft.

Teuteberg said the OBS would start out with five Namacurras, and the Navy would then decide whether to opt for another design. One requirement is that they be small enough to be air-deliverable by the SA Air Force’s new Airbus A400M transport planes.

Engelbrecht said the new OBS boats “will be fitted with a radio, radar and tracking suite which will connect with the shore-based (command-and-control system). The OBS base will also be fitted with observation equipment,” with specifi-cations requiring a surveillance radar suite, plus “some basic night visual cameras”.

Engelbrecht said “the Navy wants all the required hardware, software and logistics support delivered by December next year”.

A former member of the South African Air Force claimed that “although he is an officer and a gentleman” he was dismissed for no reason from the SA Defence Force.

Letsatsi Mosiane now wants the chief of the Air Force to provide him with documented evidence proving that the decision to fire him was lawful, reasonable and procedurally fair.

Mosiane turned to the Pretoria high court to get his job back.

He stated in court papers that he had 20 years’ service in the SANDF and was at all times a law-abiding citizen. He even received a medal for long service and good conduct.

His services were terminated in August 2005 when he was verbally informed he was fired, without any reasons given.

Mosiane said he only received the reason a month later – he was guilty of misconduct because he had been absent for a continuous period exceeding 30 days. He said he tried without success to obtain the evidence on which his dismissal was based. Mosiane said he had, in fact, been on official leave.

Mosiane said he asked the Chief of the Air Force for proof of the allegations against him which led to his dismissal. The Chief, however, said he could not do so and would only provide it in a court of law.

The matter was postponed indefinitely as the parties still had to exchange documents pertaining to the court application.

Police are investigating a case of arson after three separate fires began on the slopes of the Helderberg mountain yesterday afternoon.

Fanned by powerful south-easterly winds, the fires spread quickly and burned through the night.

Early this morning the SANDF aero-firefighting team joined the ground team with their 26 firefighting vehicles and volunteers from the Working on Fire programme.

Disaster Risk Management spokesman Wilfred Solomons said the fire had spread rapidly, covering a large area. Although danger to property had been averted, damage to vegetation was being assessed by Cape Nature Conservation.

The cause of the fire, which broke out next to Helderberg College in a nature conservation area, is yet to be established but sources said a man had been witnessed deliberately starting the fires.

By midday today, the fires were still burning about 500m below the mountain’s rock face, but the chopper teams water-bombing the flames appeared to be winning the battle.

At another fire yesterday, rescue personnel had to evacuate onlookers after a fire broke out at the Momar detergent factory in the Lansdowne industrial area.

A number of firefighters and nine fire trucks were dispatched to the scene just after 7pm last night, but by 9pm large flames and a thick cloud of black smoke could still be seen at the building.

When the Cape Argus ar-rived, a large crowd had gathered and police had cordoned off the area to vehicles.

Solomons said they had evacuated nearby residents as it was not clear what chemicals were used at the factory. It was later established that these were not harmful.

However, three firefighters were treated for skin irritation and Solomons cautioned anyone in the vicinity who felt nauseous to consult a doctor c.

The SA National Defence Force aero-firefighting team has joined the city’s firefighting services in battling a blaze in the Helderberg region.

Disaster Risk Management spokes-man Wilfred Solomons said the fire, which started at about 3pm yesterday, had covered a very large area and had spread rapidly.

Although danger to property has been averted, vegetation has been extensively affected and Cape Nature Conservation has been contacted to conduct an assessment of the damage.

The SANDF aerial firefighters joined the ground team of about 26 firefighting vehicles and volunteers from the Working on Fire programme shortly before 7am today.

The fire broke out next to Helderberg College in a nature conservation area. The cause of the fire is yet to be established.

At another fire in Induland Crescent in the Lansdowne industrial area, fire and other rescue personnel had to evacuate onlookers after a fire broke out at the Momar factory which produces cleaning detergents.

A large number of firefighters and nine fire trucks were dispatched to the scene just after 7pm last night, but by 9pm large flames and a thick cloud of black smoke could still be seen at the building.

When the Cape Argus arrived on the scene, a large crowd had gathered in the street while police and Metro Police cordoned off the immediate area to vehicles.

Solomons said they had evacuated nearby residents as it was not clear what chemicals were used at the factory. It was later established that these were not harmful.

However, three firefighters were treated for skin irritation and Sol-omons cautioned anyone in the vicinity who felt nauseous to consult a doctor or clinic.

The fire was later extinguished and no other property was damaged.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Abduragmaan Mohamed, owner of the neighbouring shop, Mr Cheap, arrived at the scene to check on his store. “Luckily nothing was damaged, but Momar is terribly burnt,” he said.

Solomons said emergency services were on high alert this weekend, as temperatures of 29ºC with strong winds were expected today, with a high of 30ºC tomorrow.

The funeral services of two of the nine SA National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers who died in an exercise at the Lohatlha training grounds last week will take place this weekend.

The SANDF said on Friday the funeral service of Staff Sergeant John Bezuidenhoudt, 30, would be held on Saturday at 9am at the Roman Catholic Church in Upington in the Northern Cape.

His remains will thereafter be buried during a semi-military funeral, as requested by his family, at the Kameeldoring Cemetery.

He is survived by his mother Mrs W Bezuidenhoudt.

The funeral service of Gunner Emmah Thembekile Mthimunye, 20, will also be held on Saturday, at 7am at Siyabuswa Zone "A", in Mpumalanga.

Her remains will be buried during a full military funeral service at the new cemetery in Siyabuswa.

She is survived by her mother Mrs LN Mthimunye.

Bezuidenhoudt and Mthimunye were among the nine members of the SANDF who died on Friday, October 12, in an accident during Exercise Seboka.

The funeral arrangements of the seven other soldiers will be published once confirmed by the next of kin, the SANDF said.

 Presque entièrement située au sud du tropique du Capricorne, l'Afrique du Sud constitue un vaste ensemble géographique. La population totale dépassait les 30 millions d'habitants en 1992 et approchait les 35 millions si l'on prenait en compte la population de quatre bantoustans officiellement « indépendants ». Cet espace géopolitique - véritable poumon de l'Afrique australe et jusqu'à une date récente « point de fixation » pour les États voisins dits de la « ligne de front » - s'est façonné et développé dans des conditions mouvementées et souvent rudes au cours de trois siècles d'histoire (340 ans en 1992 si l'on retient la date de la fondation du premier établissement colonial hollandais).

A military board of inquiry into an accident in which nine soldiers were killed has begun its work, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said on Wednesday.

Lekota was visiting seven troopers in various Bloemfontein hospitals who were injured in the anti-aircraft gun accident at the Lohatla training area in the Northern Cape last Friday.

"As a further assurance to the public we (the SA National Defence Force) do not want to see a repetition of what happened," said Lekota after visiting the injured troops.

"A vigorous and transparent investigation will be conducted and concluded as soon as possible."

Lekota said the board of inquiry would be led by a retired officer, Major-General Johan Jooste, who was an experienced soldier and not "beholden" to anybody.

"He would not be shy to point out mistakes where there were. We need this kind of investigation so that no mistake is covered up, and to eliminate all weaknesses if any."

Lekota said the board of inquiry must first of all establish get the factual cause of the accident.

It would also have to establish any issues of liability, whether criminal or civil, and must make recommendations to prevent further such accidents.

Lekota said the Department of Defence would take all necessary steps to support the families of the dead and injured. This included the preparations of the funerals.

"We will make sure that they receive full military honours and put as much effort into the funerals as resources allow," said Lekota.

A trust fund had also been set up in an effort to gain public financial support for the families.

Earlier, Lekota accompanied by the Chief of the SA National Defence Force, General Godfrey Ngwenya, visited three injured soldiers at the Pelonomi Regional Hospital, three more soldiers at Three Military Hospital at Tempe, and one soldier admitted to the Universitas Hospital in Bloemfontein.

Speaking to journalists during the visits, Lekota said by its nature defence was a very dangerous business and soldiers worked with very dangerous weapons.

"Accidents from time to time may occur in reality. It's like many other occupations like miners going down into mines, anything can happen."

Standing by the bedside of Private Butana Mabuso, 22, at Three Military Hospital, Lekota said his experience would have changed him into a better soldier.

"Somebody like you would always be very, very conscious, understanding that it is very dangerous equipment. Others would take it for granted because they have not had the experience."

Mabuso of 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Kimberley was admitted for being temporarily paralysed, shocked and traumatised. He was hit in the back by an object when the 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft gun started to misfire wildly.

"You must recover, you will recover, we will look after you with the proper medical attention," said Lekota.

"I am better now," said Mabuso.

Two woman soldiers treated for shrapnel wounds, also at Three Military hospital, were in good spirits despite their injuries.

They wanted to know if they could go back and finish the exercise.

"It speaks of the quality of persons this country needs in the defence force," said Lekota in reply, adding that he was inspired by the mood among the injured troops.

The minister also assured those who lost limbs in the accident that they would be looked after and supported.

"All of our members who suffered injuries become our responsibility and remain our responsibility," said Lekota.

He said some of the injured, who were mostly still young people, would be re-trained subject to their talents and situation.

"Some will be sent for further training at education institutions at the expense of the department of defence."

SANDF chief Ngwenya confirmed that the defence force would help the families of the dead and injured attend a memorial service in Kimberley next Wednesday.

Lekota was expected to visit the rest of the troops busy with Exercise Seboka at Lohatla.

A Pretoria mother believes her son, who was killed along with eight other SANDF soldiers in one of the country’s worst ever military training disasters, died a hero.

Gunner Sammuel Nyembe (22) of Mabopane was killed on Friday in Lohatla in the Northern Cape while he and 23 other members of the 10 Air Defence Artillery Regiment in Kimberley were taking part in the SANDF’s annual battle readiness training exercise – Exercise Seboka.

Nyembe and two other Pretoria-born soldiers, gunners Thapelo Nkwana (21) and Botse Seipato (21) were among the nine killed.

Nyembe was killed when he ran to help fellow gunner Rhulani Mtileni (23) as she tried to shut down the gun as it pumped hundreds of 0.5kg rounds into the troops around them.

Nyembe’s mother Mabel yesterday said: “I was so proud of him. He was a true gentleman and I believe that he died a hero.”.

Nyembe’s sister Thabisile said the family was battling to come to terms with her brother’s death.

The accident at the SA National Defence Force's Lohatlha training grounds last week happened immediately after technicians had finished repairing the weapon, a Mark V twin-barrelled 35mm gun, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota said in the National Assembly.

A one-eighth of a second burst of explosive shells from the barrel of the anti-aircraft gun killed nine soldiers and injured 15 others, MPs heard on Tuesday.

Explaining the circumstances around the incident, which happened last Friday, Lekota said the training exercise had involved eight guns positioned 20 metres apart in a line facing north.

The day was the first on which the soldiers involved had used "live" ammunition in a training exercise. The ground targets being fired at were located between 1,500 metres and 2,000 metres away.

Each gun had a crew of four. The gun on which the incident occurred was the one on the far right, at the east end of the line.

"As all guns commenced firing, the gun on the far right... had a stoppage. This is something that happens from time to time.

"Technicians repaired this gun, while all the other guns continued firing. This is a very normal drill.

"As they continued firing, after the gun was fixed, it swung

completely to the left, and one barrel fired off a burst of 15 to 20 shots in one-eighth of a second. The... gun immediately to the left was hit.

"This fatal burst then killed or injured members of all the guns to the left. The effect was therefore that all of those killed or injured [were hit] from the right and lost right hands, or right legs, or lost their lives."

He confirmed the total number killed was nine, and 15 injured.

Lekota said the eight guns had been used the day before, "and each one had successfully fired between 500 and 800 rounds each".

He further explained the guns could be set on either "manual or electric firing mode".

On the Friday, they had all been set on manual. This meant they were sighted on the target, and the barrel then clamped into position "so that the barrel should not move from side to side".

"When firing in electric mode, safety boundaries are computerised and the barrels are not clamped, but move within the boundaries set in advance."

Lekota said care was always taken within the SANDF to avoid accidents, and he offered his condolences to the families of those killed and injured.

He said the soldiers killed would each receive full military funerals.

An investigation into the accident was being carried out by the SA Police Service and forensic experts.

Furthermore, the defence force itself was to hold a board of inquiry into the incident. This would be chaired by two retired generals.

The results of this inquiry would be made public as soon as possible.

Lekota appealed to the media not to speculate on the causes of the accident, and called on the families of those involved to ignore any speculation until the inquiry was completed.

After his statement, the House rose and observed a moment of silence for those killed.

The soldiers died during the SANDF's annual "Exercise Seboka" at the Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatlha, in the Northern Cape on Friday.

Brigadier General Kwena Mangope told BuaNews that investigations could start either on Tuesday or Wednesday.

"All the members of the board of enquiry are ready to start with the inquiry," said Brigadier General Mangope.

With regard to funeral arrangements of the fallen soldiers, Brigadier General Mangope said they were still consulting with the families of the deceased and once that has been done, funeral arrangements would be announced.

"We are currently engaged with the families to find out what funeral arrangements they would prefer," he said.

Most of the deceased were from Gauteng and others were from the Northern Cape and Limpopo.

The deceased are:

Staff Sergeant John Bezuidenhoudt, 30 Bombardier Khangeziwe, Lephunah Malaza, 24 Gunner Emmah Thembekile Mthimunye, 20 Gunner Rhulani Mihloti Mtileni, 23 Gunner Sebenzile Veronica Nhlabathi, 20 Gunner Thapelo James Nkwana, 21 Gunner Sammuel Sphiwe Nyembe, 22 Gunner Botse, Seipato, 21, and Gunner Rudzani Christopher Siphuma, 21.

The soldiers were killed in an accident involving a 35mm MK5 Anti Aircraft Gun.

At the time of the incident, a group of 24 soldiers were participating in a shooting exercise.

Of these, 16 soldiers, five of whom were female soldiers, sustained serious injuries and have been admitted to various hospitals in Bloemfontein. According to Brigadier General Mangope, those admitted in hospital are recovering well.

Over the weekend, the Minister of Defence, Mosiuoa Lekota, on behalf of the Department of Defence and the Chief of the SANDF, General Godfrey Ngwenya, extended sincerest sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased.

Exercise Seboka is an annual joint conventional military exercise involving 5 000 soldiers from 18 army units, plus members of the SA Air Force, SA Navy and SA Military Health Service.

The exercise is aimed at preparing troops for battle.

This is a Pretoria mother’s belief about her son who was killed along with eight other SANDF soldiers in one of the country’s worst military training disasters.

Gunner Sammuel Nyembe (22) of Mabopane was killed on Friday in Lohatla in the Northern Cape while he and 23 other members of the 10 Air Defence Artillery Regiment in Kimberley were taking part in the SANDF’s annual battle readiness training exercise, Exercise Seboka.

Nyembe and two other Pretoria-born soldiers, gunners Thapelo Nkwana (21) of Atteridgeville and Botse Seipato (21) of Mabopane, were among the nine killed.

It is believed that Nyembe, whose lifelong dream was to be a parabat, was killed when he ran to help fellow gunner Rhulani Mtileni (23) as she tried to shut down the gun as it pumped hundreds of 0.5kg rounds into the troops around them.

Nyembe’s distraught mother Mabel yesterday said she could not believe her only son was dead.

“When I saw the news on television on Friday night I knew in my heart that he was dead,” she said.

Nyembe said that when a number of soldiers arrived at the family’s home on Saturday she knew her worst nightmare had come true.

Nyembe said that Sammuel had been the family breadwinner.

“I was so proud of him. He was a true gentleman and I believe that he died a hero,” she said.

Nyembe’s sister Thabisile said the family was battling to come to terms with her brother’s death.

And today, army chief Lt-Gen Solly Shoke is scheduled to visit the injured soldiers recovering in hospitals in Bloemfontein, in the Free State.

The bloodshed started when a computerised anti-aircraft cannon went haywire and fired live shells for several seconds at soldiers taking part in the “friendly fire” exercise. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has refused to confirm what will form part of the investigation, but says that “all aspects will be probed”.

The questions that need answering are whether the soldiers operating the powerful cannon were sufficiently trained; whether the gun malfunctioned; whether the foreign manufacturers will be held liable and whether anyone from the army could be held accountable for the disaster.

It is suspected that the gun jammed and when the soldiers tried to unblock it, an accidental round was fired, causing an explosion inside the magazines.

Yesterday, Maj Niko Allie said that investigations had started. He also said that the police were conducting their own investigation.

Seven soldiers are still in hospital in a stable and “satisfactory” condition, Allie said.

The nine who were killed were: Sgt John Bezuidenhout, 30; Bombardier Khangeziwe Malaza, 24; Gnr Rhulani Mtileni, 23; Gnr Thalepo Nkwana, 21; Gnr Sammuel Nyembe, 22; Gnr Botse Seipato, 21; Gnr Emmah Mthimunye, 20; Gnr Sebenzile Nhlabathi, 20; and Gnr Rudzani Siphuma, 21.

A bid to escape a life of dire poverty led one of the soldiers killed in Friday’s military training bloodbath to join the army.

A desire to take care of his mother inspired gunner Thapelo Nkwana (21) of Atteridgeville to join the SA National Defence Force.

Nkwana was among nine soldiers gunned down during an exercise-gone-wrong at the SANDF’s combat training centre in Lohatla in the Northern Cape on Friday.

The nine, along with 16 of their colleagues, were taking part in Exercise Seboka when tragedy struck.

Nkwana was one of three Pretoria-born soldiers killed when the “out-of-control” 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft cannon sprayed hundreds of 0.5kg high-explosive shells.

It is believed that a computer glitch caused the cannon to malfunction.

Nkwana joined the SANDF in January along with Mabopane-born soldiers, gunners Samuel Nyembe (22) and Botse Seipato (21).

The three were among the first to be cut down as they frantically dived for cover from the hail of bullets.

Gunner Rhulani Mtileni (23) is said to have tried to shut down the gun but was mowed down when struck in the chest.

The gun continued to spray rounds, killing Staff Sergeant John Bezuidenhout (30) of Upington, bombardier Khangeziwe Malaza (24) of Tembisa, and gunners Emmah Mthimunye (20) of Mpumalanga, Sebenzile Nhlabathi (20) of Ladysmith and Rudzani Siphuma (21) of Chiawelo, Soweto.

Another 15 soldiers injured were airlifted to 3 Military and Pelonomi hospitals in Bloemfontein.

Nkwana’s brother Vincent said the family were devastated. The family were still in the dark about what had happened, he said.

The last time the family heard from his brother, who would have turned 22 in two weeks, was when he sent an SMS saying he was going to be taking part in the exercise.

Nyembe’s sister Thabisile said the family was heartbroken. She said it had been her brother’s lifelong dream to be a soldier.

Seipato’s family could not be reached for comment.

SANDF spokesperson Major Nico Allie said a board of inquiry would investigate the disaster

Separate probes will determine how nine soldiers were killed in training

An internal probe and a police investigation are under way to unravel the cause of a horrific army training accident that killed nine soldiers and wounded 14.

Army chief Lieutenant-General Solly Shoke was today scheduled to visit the injured soldiers recovering in hospitals in Bloemfontein.

The bloodshed occurred on Friday when a computerised anti-aircraft cannon went haywire and spat high-explosive bullets for several seconds at soldiers taking part in a training exercise.

The South African National Defence Force would not confirm what exactly would form part of the investigation, but said “All aspects will be probed”.

The questions that needed answering were whether the soldiers operating the gun were sufficiently trained; whether the gun mechanically malfunctioned; would the foreign manufacturers be held liable; and could anyone from the army be held accountable for the disaster?

The nine gunners slain were aged between 20 and 23 and many were volunteers, having joined the army through its skills-development programme.

It is suspected that the gun jammed, and when the soldiers tried to unblock it, an accidental round was fired, causing an explosion inside the magazines.

Yesterday, Major Niko Allie confirmed that investigations had started into what was being called the worst training accident in the SANDF’s history.

He added that the police were conducting their own parallel investigation.

Seven soldiers were still in hospitals in a stable and satisfactory condition, Allie said.

The nine who were mown down by the 0,5kg 35mm cannon shells on Friday morning are: Sergeant John Bezuidenhout (30), Bombardier Khangeziwe Malaza (24), Gunner Rhulani Mtileni (23), Gunner Thapelo Nkwana (21), Gunner Sammuel Nyembe (22), Gunner Botse Seipato (21), Gunner Emmah Mthimunye (20), Gunner Sebenzile Nhlabathi (20) and Gunner Rudzani Siphuma (21).

The accident occurred just before 9am at the SA Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla, Northern Cape.

The training was part of the SANDF’s Exercise Seboka, an annual joint military exercise involving 5 000 soldiers from 18 army units as well as members of the SA Air Force, SA Navy and SA Military Health Services.

A Swiss/ German Oerlikon MK5 twin-barrelled gun went out of control and began to swing wildly, shooting until it had emptied its twin 250-round auto-loader magazines.

The rogue gun was described as swinging around 360 degrees like a high-pressure water hose. By the time the last shells fell, 23 soldiers had been hit.

Five were airlifted to Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein, where they are recovering. Two were taken to 3 Military Hospital, also in Bloemfontein, and seven were treated for minor injuries in a sick bay at the training centre.

Brigadier-General Kwena Mangope could not say yesterday when the inquiry would be complete. But he added that once it was, lessons would be learnt from it.

He said Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota had expressed his condolences to the families of those who died and wished the injured a speedy recovery in hospital.

Mangope said the primary focus of the internal probe was to “assess what transpired”, and the investigation would be headed by a senior general from the army’s headquarters.

Among the injured was 20-year-old Frans Pale, who had his right hand blown off by one of the shells, and Shaun Hayes (21), an instructor.

It is understood that a female artillery officer who was in control of the weapon battled to bring it under control, but could not stop the firing of 15 projectiles per second.

Army union leaders have called for an open investigation and said the tragedy was a wake-up call and a reality check.

The meeting will mainly focus on the establishment of assembly areas for about 1 500 members of the rebel group Palipehutu-FNL who have abandoned their positions.

Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, who is the facilitator of the process, told reporters on Monday that the JVMM would meet to discuss primarily issues around the recent split within the rebel group that resulted in the abandonment of positions by some members.

Mr Nqakula explained that thus far about 1 500 members of the FNL had abandoned their positions and were seeking shelter, food and medical assistance for some.

The defected members, he said might also require protection from possible attacks by those who were still with the FNL.

The FNL is a rebel movement that had stayed out of negotiations that resulted in the process of achieving democracy in Burundi.

They continued to fight despite the adoption of a constitution that led to the election of the current government of President Pierre Nkurunziza.

The group signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in September last year but later reneged on the agreement.

The minister also explained that if required to, peace-keeping forces already deployed in Burundi will have to provide protection for those defecting rebels.

"The protection of the [former rebels] is the responsibility of the facilitation through the African Union [AU] forces. These are South African National Defence Force [SANDF] members who are deployed under the auspices of the AU," he explained.

Saturday's meeting will also seek to resume the implementation of the Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the Burundi government and the rebel group Palipehutu-FNL.

The implementation of the CFA will result in the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process of Palipehutu-FNL combatants.

The comprehensive ceasefire agreement seeks to strengthen the Agreement of Principles Towards Lasting Peace, Security and Stability, signed by the two parties on 18 June 2006.

In that agreement the parties made a number of commitments, including addressing ethnicity issues, which have broadly been blamed for conflicts in the Great Lakes country.

They also agreed to provisional immunity for members of the Palipehutu-FNL and its transformation into a political party; the repatriation of refugees and return of displaced and regrouped persons; as well as the overhaul of defence and security forces.

As a result of abandonment of positions by some FNL members, Mr Nqakula on Friday convened an urgent meeting of the Regional Technical Committee.

It is made up of representatives from Uganda, whose President chairs the Regional Initiative; Tanzania, the President of which is the Deputy Chairperson, and South Africa, the facilitating country.

The meeting then received an instruction from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to immediately create assembly areas for the armed combatants as they left Palipehutu-FNL positions.

The facilitator has also invited the Palipehutu-FNL to the meeting in Bujumbura

Mr Nqakula told reporters that he has received reports that the Palipehutu-FNL was "keen" on rejoining the peace process.

The condition of five South African soldiers injured by a haywire anti-aircraft gun is "stable", hospital staff said on Monday.

The soldiers are being treated at the Pelonomi Regional Hospital's trauma unit in Bloemfontein.

Free State Health spokeswoman Elke de Witt said the soldiers' condition had stabilised and they were "doing well".

South African Army chief Lieutenant-General Solly Shoke visited the soldiers en route to the Northern Cape.

SA National Defence Force (SANDF) spokesman Brigadier-General Kwena Mangope said Shoke was on his way to the Lohatla combat training area near Postmasburg in the Northern Cape where Exercise Seboka was continuing.

Nine soldiers died when a 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft gun went haywire during a training exercise on Friday.

SANDF headquarters said on Sunday another two soldiers seriously hurt in the incident were also in a satisfactory condition at 3 Military Hospital at Tempe in Bloemfontein.

Seven troops, who were slightly injured, had been treated at the sickbay at the SA Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla, Mangope said earlier.

The Department of Defence had appointed a high-level board of inquiry to investigate the incident.

Free State premier Beatrice Marshoff also visited the injured soldiers.

Spokesman for her office Teboho Sikisi said the premier gave the injured some support.

"She assured them that the facilities were of the best to get them back on their feet."

Sikisi said Marshoff also encouraged the young people to continue their careers in the defence force.

The soldiers died during the SANDF's annual "Exercise Seboka" at the Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatlha, in the Northern Cape on Friday.

The Minister of Defence, Mosiuoa Lekota, on behalf of the Department of Defence and the Chief of the SANDF, General Godfrey Ngwenya, extended sincerest sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased. The soldiers were killed in an accident involving a 35mm MK5 Anti Aircraft Gun. A group of 24 soldiers were participating in a shooting exercise when the accident occurred. Of these, 16 soldiers, five of whom were female soldiers, sustained serious injuries and have been admitted to various hospitals in Bloemfontein.

The area where the accident took place has been cordoned off, and the South African Police Service and the Military Police Agency were called to conduct investigations. According to the SANDF, a high level investigation team has been sanctioned to investigate the circumstances that led to the accident. "Welfare officers from the South African Military Health Service were called to scene to provide preliminary counselling to troops," an SANDF spokesperson said. Exercise Seboka is an annual joint conventional military exercise involving 5 000 soldiers from 18 army units, plus members of the SA Air Force, SA Navy and SA Military Health Service.

PRETORIA: A desire to escape a life of dire poverty led Thapelo Nkwana, 21, to join the army in January. On Friday, he was one of nine soldiers who died in the horror anti-aircraft gun accident in the Northern Cape.

Nkwana, of Atteridgeville here, joined the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) so he could support his mother and help his family, his brother, Vincent, said.

The family were devastated by his death.

“Thapelo was religious and loved going to church. He didn’t want to join the army, but did so because of poverty and because he could not find a job.”

Nkwana had dreamed of becoming an engineer and would have turned 22 in two weeks. The last time his family heard from him was when he sent an SMS saying he was well and was going to be taking part in the exercise.

He was one of the eight soldiers who died on the scene at the combat training centre at Lohatla when a twin-barrelled anti-aircraft gun malfunctioned and began firing wildly as the annual Exercise Seboka, involving close to 5 000 defence force members, got under way.

A ninth soldier, a woman, died in hospital and 15 others were wounded.

The nine were among 25 members of 10 Air Defence Artillery Regiment in Kimberley taking part in the military’s annual battle-readiness training exercise. This year, it involved 5 000 members of the air force, military health services, navy and army.

It is believed that a computer glitch caused the 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft cannon to go awry, firing hundreds of 500g high-explosive shells.

Nkwana and Mabopane-born gunners Samuel Nyembe, 22, and Botse Seipato, 21, were among the first to be cut down as they tried to seek cover.

It is understood that gunner Rhulani Mtilenim, 23, tried to shut down the gun, but a shell struck her in the chest.

As the gun emptied its twin 250-round auto-loader magazines, it killed John Bezuidenhout, 30, from Upington and a staff sergeant, bombardier Khangeziwe Malaza, 24, of Tembisa, and gunners Emmah Mthimunye, 20, of Mpumalanga, Sebenzile Nhlabathi, 20, of Ladysmith, and Rudzani Siphuma, 21, of Soweto.

The wounded were flown to 3 Military and Pelonomi hospitals in Bloemfontein. Spokesperson Nico Allie said their conditions were satisfactory.

A board of inquiry had been appointed, he said.

Separate probes will determine how nine soldiers were killed in training

An internal probe and a police investigation are under way to unravel the cause of a horrific army training accident that killed nine soldiers and wounded 14.

Army chief Lieutenant-General Solly Shoke was yesterday scheduled to visit the injured soldiers recovering in hospitals in Bloemfontein.

The bloodshed occurred on Friday when a computerised anti-aircraft cannon went haywire and spat high-explosive bullets for several seconds at soldiers taking part in a training exercise.

The South African National Defence Force would not confirm what exactly would form part of the investigation, but said “All aspects will be probed”.

The questions that needed answering were whether the soldiers operating the gun were sufficiently trained; whether the gun mechanically malfunctioned; would the foreign manufacturers be held liable; and could anyone from the army be held accountable for the disaster?

The nine gunners slain were aged between 20 and 23 and many were volunteers, having joined the army through its skills-development programme.

It is suspected that the gun jammed, and when the soldiers tried to unblock it, an accidental round was fired, causing an explosion inside the magazines.

Yesterday, Major Niko Allie confirmed that investigations had started into what was being called the worst training accident in the SANDF’s history.

He added that the police were conducting their own parallel investigation.

Seven soldiers were still in hospitals in a stable and satisfactory condition, Allie said.

The nine who were mown down by the 0,5kg 35mm cannon shells on Friday morning are: Sergeant John Bezuidenhout (30), Bombardier Khangeziwe Malaza (24), Gunner Rhulani Mtileni (23), Gunner Thapelo Nkwana (21), Gunner Sammuel Nyembe (22), Gunner Botse Seipato (21), Gunner Emmah Mthimunye (20), Gunner Sebenzile Nhlabathi (20) and Gunner Rudzani Siphuma (21).

The accident occurred just before 9am at the SA Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla, Northern Cape.

The training was part of the SANDF’s Exercise Seboka, an annual joint military exercise involving 5 000 soldiers from 18 army units as well as members of the SA Air Force, SA Navy and SA Military Health Services.

A Swiss/ German Oerlikon MK5 twin-barrelled gun went out of control and began to swing wildly, shooting until it had emptied its twin 250-round auto-loader magazines.

The rogue gun was described as swinging around 360 degrees like a high-pressure water hose. By the time the last shells fell, 23 soldiers had been hit.

Five were airlifted to Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein, where they are recovering. Two were taken to 3 Military Hospital, also in Bloemfontein, and seven were treated for minor injuries in a sick bay at the training centre.

Brigadier-General Kwena Mangope could not say yesterday when the inquiry would be complete. But he added that once it was, lessons would be learnt from it.

He said Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota had expressed his condolences to the families of those who died and wished the injured a speedy recovery in hospital.

Mangope said the primary focus of the internal probe was to “assess what transpired”, and the investigation would be headed by a senior general from the army’s headquarters.

Among the injured was 20-year-old Frans Pale, who had his right hand blown off by one of the shells, and Shaun Hayes (21), an instructor.

It is understood that a female artillery officer who was in control of the weapon battled to bring it under control, but could not stop the firing of 15 projectiles per second.

Army union leaders have called for an open investigation and said the tragedy was a wake-up call and a reality check.

The country’s two defence unions have called for an open Defence Ministry probe into the tragedy in which nine soldiers died and 15 were critically injured when a routine military exercise took a crazed and bloody turn on Friday.

A computerised Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled gun took on a mind of its own at Lohatla Army Battle School in the Northern Cape and sprayed high-explosive shells at a rate of 550 a minute, swinging around like a high-pressure hose.

A battery from 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Kimberly was on a live-fire exercise as part of the South African National Defence Force’s Exercise Seboka, an annual event.

Information is that the gun apparently jammed soon after the exercise began.

When a female officer, whose name has still not been released, tried to help the gunner clear the blockage, another shell was accidentally fired, causing ammunition in the magazines to explode. This led to the gun firing wildly on its own.

This female officer apparently tried to save the rest of her battery by attempting to shut down the gun, but could not, because a computer gremlin had taken over.

Eight male soldiers died instantly, and a female soldier died soon after she arrived at the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein. SANDF spokesman Brig-Gen Kwena Mangope said at this stage they did not know whether this was the same woman who had tried to save the rest of her battery.

Fifteen soldiers are critically injured, five of them women.

Mangope said 24 soldiers were on the exercise. A board of inquiry was in progress to determine the cause of the tragedy.

“The job we are in is very risky. We have never experienced an accident of this magnitude in one day. We are still trying to contact the soldiers’ next of kin before we release their names to the public,” he said.

Hospital staff refused to speak about anything related to the soldiers and referred all queries to the SANDF.

SANDF spokesman Maj Nico Alli said five of the seriously injured were treated at Bloemfontein’s Pelonomi Hospital and were in stable condition.

“Two others are in satisfactory condition at the 3 Military Hospital. Seven soldiers with minor injuries were treated at the sick-bay at the SA Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatlha,” said Allie.

Defence unions have expressed concern at the accident. “There are questions that must be answered,” said SA Security Forces’ Union deputy president Charles Jacobs.

A “fully transparent” ministerial inquiry was needed to establish the cause, and how so many soldiers could have been killed and injured.

“By the nature of their job soldiers can be exposed to these incidents, but now a reality check is needed,” said SA National Defence Union general secretary Pikkie Greeff.

“We are demanding a thorough investigation that should be broadened to include negligence, the manufacturer, age and maintenance of the weapon.”

It was premature to suggest that it was an accident, he said. The investigation needed to look at the cause of the incident, but also deficiencies in the military.

Defence Ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi cautioned against speculation before the probe had been completed.

The anti-aircraft gun that malfunctioned during a military exercise in the Northern Cape yesterday could traverse 112 degrees in a second, so that the entire incident would have taken just six seconds, says Jane’s defence analyst Helmoed Romer Heitman.

This would have left no time for intervention.

Nine soldiers, one of them a woman, were killed and another 15 critically injured during the tragedy that took place on the fifth day of the SANDF’s annual Exercise Seboka, at the Lohatla Army Battle School in the Northern Cape.

Romer Heitman said the Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft guns had been in use around the world since the early 1980s, when they saw service in the Falklands and with the old South African Defence Force in Angola. They had since been upgraded and computerised.

A battery from 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Kimberley were on a live-fire exercise when the twin barrels of the anti-aircraft gun began to swing like a high-pressure hose, spraying high-explosive 500g shells at a rate of 550 a minute.

A female officer apparently tried to save the rest of her battery by attempting to shut the gun down, but was unable to do so. Eight soldiers died instantly, and one female soldier died soon after she was airlifted to the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein.

SANDF spokesman Major Nico Allie said five of the seriously injured were treated at the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein and are in a stable condition. “Two others were in satisfactory condition at 3 Military Hospital and seven soldiers with minor injuries were treated at the sick-bay at the SA Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla,” said Allie.

A board of inquiry had been set up to determine the cause of the tragedy.

But Romer Heitman said: “If the cause lay in computer error, the reason for the tragedy might never be found.”

The anti-aircraft gun is arguably the best of its kind in the world.

“Anything mechanical can malfunction; when you have explosives this is dangerous and computers, as we all know, go wrong,” said Heitman.

Arms industry boffin Richard Young said his company had been involved years ago in two projects which used the same anti-aircraft cannon. About a decade ago he witnessed problems with the cannons – including one “seeming out of control”.

“What I do also know, is that the few dozen Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons acquired by the SADF from Switzerland in the 1980s, or early 1990s, were not fully automatic and local developments took place to provide them with automatic fire control systems including, I think, electric gun drives.”

Young said it seemed two, if not more, problems had occurred to create the tragedy and there were puzzling aspects to the accounts.

“As an electronics engineer, it is difficult for me to contemplate a control system failure mode that could lead to unintentional firing of a continuous burst until the ammunition is expended,” Young said.

He said the gun should have been halted by end-stops that would prevent it spinning wildly in an arc.

“If this tragic accident was caused by faulty system design, faulty electronic hardware or faulty software then the engineers and company which effected the design and implementation need to be outed,” Young said.

The country’s two defence unions called for the Defence Ministry to probe the disaster.

“There are a number of questions that must be answered,” said SA Security Forces Union deputy president Charles Jacobs.

“In the nature of their job soldiers can be exposed to these incidents, but now a reality check is needed,” said SA National Defence Union general secretary Pikkie Greeff.

l The defence force released the names of six of the dead last night. They were Staff Sergeant John Bezuidenhout, 30, of Upington, Bombardier Lephunah Malaza, 24, of Tembisa, Gunner Rhulani Mihloti Mtileni, 23, of Giyani, Gunner Thapelo James Nkwana, 21, of Atteridgeville, and Gunners Sammuel Sphiwe Neyembe, 22, and Botse Seipato, 21, both from Mabopane.

Five soldiers injured when an anti-aircraft gun went "haywire" during a training exercise were in a "satisfactory" condition at the Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

SA National Defence Force (SANDF) headquarters said another two soldiers seriously hurt in the incident were also in a satisfactory condition at 3 Military Hospital, in Bloemfontein.

Seven troops, who were slightly injured, had been treated at the sickbay at the SA Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla, said SANDF spokesman Brigadier-General Kwena Mangope.

Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and Chief of the SANDF General Godfrey Ngwenya have wished the injured soldiers a speedy recovery.

They have also extended their "sincerest sympathies and condolences" to the families of the nine soldiers who died in the incident involving a 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft gun during the Exercise Seboka.

All of the soldiers were members of 10 Air Defence Artillery Regiment, in Kimberly.

The dead were named by the SANDF on Sunday as:

-- Staff Sergeant John Bezuidenhoudt, 30, survived by his mother, Mrs W Bezuidenhoudt, of Upington;

-- Bombardier Khangeziwe Lephunah Malaza, 24, survived by her mother Mrs A N Malaza, of Tembisa;

-- Gunner Emmah Thembekile Mthimunye, 20, survived by her mother Mrs N L Mthimunye, of Siyabuswa, in Mpumalanga;

-- Gunner Rhulani Mihloti Mtileni, 23, survived by Samuel Mtileni, of Limpopo;

-- Gunner Sebenzile Veronica Nhlabathi, 20, survived by her sister T T Nhlabathi, of Ladysmith;

-- Gunner Thapelo James Nkwana, 21, survived by his mother Anna Nkwana, of Atteridgeville;

-- Gunner Sammuel Sphiwe Nyembe, 22, survived by his sister Thabisile Nyembe, of Mabopane;

-- Gunner Botse Seipato, 21, survived by his mother, from Mabopane; and

-- Gunner Rudzani Christopher Siphuma, 21, survived by his father Simon Siphuma, of Chiawelo.

"The Department of Defence is to begin with the process of liaising with the families of the deceased to discuss funeral arrangments," said Mangope.

Funeral arrangements would be announced once they had been confirmed by the families.

He said the Department had appointed a high-level board of inquiry to investigate the incident.

A female artillery officer risked her life yesterday in a desperate bid to prevent the members of her battery being mown down by their own anti-aircraft gun.

But the brave, and as yet unnamed officer, was unable to stop the wildly-swinging computerised Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 twin-barrelled anti-aircraft gun.

It sprayed hundreds of high-explosive half-kilo cannon shells around the five-gun firing position. By the time it had emptied its twin 250-round auto-loader magazines, eight soldiers were dead and 11 injured.

A ninth soldier, a woman, died moments after landing in Bloemfontein, after being flown to Pelonomi Hospital by a South African Air Force (SAAF) helicopter.

The accident happened just before 9am when a battery from 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Kimberley had begun a live-fire exercise at the Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatlha as part of the SANDF’s Exercise Seboka, the annual joint exercise involving 5 000 soldiers from 18 army units, plus members of the SA Air Force, SA Navy and the SA Military Health Service.

It is believed the incident occurred when the gun jammed just after the exercise began.

While the female officer went forward to help the gunner clear the blockage, a shell was accidentally fired, causing some of the unspent ammunition in nearly-full magazines to explode. This, in turn, caused a “runaway”.

The rogue gun began firing wildly, spraying high-explosive shells at a rate of 550 a minute, swinging around through 360° like a high-pressure hose.

The unknown officer tried to shut the gun down, but was unable to due to a computer gremlin. Her fate was unknown at the time of going to press.

The injured, five of whom were female soldiers, were airlifted by SAAF choppers to hospitals in Bloemfontein. Three were in a critical condition last night.

Defence Ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said the “friendly-fire” tragedy was the worst he could remember. “Without hesitation I can say it is very rare … I can’t remember when last an accident of this magnitude happened,” he said.

Many of the gunners were volunteers, having joined the defence force through its military skills development programme.

SANDF spokesman Brigadier-General Kwena Mangope said Exercise Seboka was aimed at preparing troops for battle.

“It appears as though the gun, which is computerised, jammed before there was some sort of explosion and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers.”

He said police and the military police had begun an investigationinto the cause of the accident.

Preparations for a top-level board of inquiry involving the military, police and the government were well under way last night.

“Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and SANDF chief general Godfrey Ngwenya have extended their sincerest sympathies and condolences to the families of the dead and injured,” said Mangope.

He declined to divulge the names of the dead or injured until their next of kin had been informed.

Welfare officers were counselling survivors and their colleagues, while the chaplain’s service was informing the next of kin.

The general officer-commanding the Army’s Air Defence Artillery (ADA), Brigadier-General Stephen Marumo, could not be reached for comment.

The SANDF is in the middle of a R3 billion programme to upgrade its ADA, adding gunner-carried short-range missile systems, longer-range vehicle-mounted systems and a new fire-control system.

Jane’s defence analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman said last night that the last military accident of this magnitude was the accidental ramming and sinking of the frigate SAS President Kruger in 1982, in which 16 sailors were killed.

SANDF suffers its worst-ever trainingdisaster as cannon mows down troops

A female artillery officer risked her life yesterday in a desperate bid to prevent members of her battery dying from their own anti-aircraft gun.

But the brave, as yet unnamed officer was unable to stop the wildly swinging computerised Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled gun. It sprayed hundreds of high-explosive 0,5kg 35mm cannon shells around the five-gun firing position.

By the time the gun had emptied its twin 250-round auto-loader magazines, eight soldiers were dead and 11 injured.

A ninth soldier, a woman, died moments after landing in Bloemfontein, after being airlifted by a South African Air Force helicopter to Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein.

The accident occurred just before 9am when a battery from 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Kimberley began a live-fire exercise at the Army Combat Training Centre at Lohatlha as part of the SANDF’s Exercise Seboka – an annual joint conventional military exercise involving 5 000 soldiers from 18 army units, plus members of the SA Air Force, SA Navy and SA Military Health Service.

It is believed the soldiers were killed when the gun jammed moments after the exercise began.

When the female officer went forward to help the gunner clear the blockage, another shell was accidentally fired, causing some of the unspent ammunition in nearly-full magazines to explode.

This, in turn, caused a “runaway”. There was nowhere to hide.

The rogue gun began firing wildly, spraying high-explosive shells at a rate of 550 a minute, swinging around through 360 degrees like a high-pressure hose.

The unknown officer tried to shut the gun down but she couldn’t because the computer gremlin had taken over. Her fate was unknown at the time of going to press.

The injured, five of whom were female soldiers, were airlifted by SAAF choppers to various hospitals in Bloemfontein.

Three were in a critical condition last night.

Defence Ministry spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said the “friendly-fire” tragedy was the worst he could remember.

“Without hesitation I can say it is very rare; I can’t even think of one … I can’t remember when last an accident of this magnitude happened.”

Many of the gunners were volunteers, having joined the defence force through its military skills development programme.

SANDF spokesperson Brigadier-General Kwena Mangope said Exercise Seboka was aimed at preparing troops for battle.

“It is assumed that there was a mechanical problem, which led to the accident.

“The gun, which was fully loaded, did not fire as it normally should have,” he said.

“It appears as though the gun, which is computerised, jammed before there was some sort of explosion and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers.”

He said the SAPS and the military police had begun an investigation to determine the cause of the accident. Preparations for a top-level board of inquiry involving the military, police and the government were well under way last night.

“Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and SANDF chief General Godfrey Ngwenya have extended their sincerest sympathies and condolences to the families of the dead and injured,” Mangope said.

He declined to divulge the names of the dead or injured until their next of kin had been informed.

Last night, welfare officers were counselling the traumatised survivors and their colleagues, while the chaplain service was informing the next of kin.

The general officer commanding the Army’s Air Defence Artillery (ADA), Brigadier-General Stephen Marumo, could not be reached for comment.

The SANDF is in the middle of a R3-billion programme to upgrade its ADA, adding gunner-toted short-range missile systems, longer-range vehicle-mounted systems and a new fire-control system.

Jane’s defence analyst Helmoed-Römer Heitman said the last military accident of this magnitude was the accidental ramming and sinking of the frigate SAS President Kruger in 1982, in which 16 sailors were killed.

Live-fire exercise goes wrong in SANDF’s worst tragedy

AFEMALE artillery officer risked her life yesterday in a desperate bid to save the members of her battery from being killed by their own anti-aircraft gun.

But the brave, and as yet unnamed sandf officer, was unable to stop the wildly swinging computerised Swiss/German Oerlikon 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft twin-barrelled gun. It sprayed hundreds of high-explosive half-kilo 35mm cannon shells around the five-gun firing position.

By the time the gun had emptied its twin 250 round auto-loader magazines, eight soldiers were dead and 11 injured. A ninth soldier, a woman, died moments after landing in Bloemfontein after being airlifted by a South African Air Force helicopter to Pelonomi Hospital.

The accident occurred just before 9am yesterday when a battery from 10 Anti-Aircraft Regiment in Kimberley had begun a live-fire exercise at the Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatlha as part of the SANDF’s Exercise Seboka, the annual joint conventional military exercise involving 5 000 soldiers from 18 army units, plus members of the SA Air Force, SA Navy and the SA Military Health Service.

It is believed that the incident occurred when the gun jammed just after the exercise began.

While the female officer went forward to help the gunner clear the blockage, another shell was accidentally fired, causing some of the unspent ammunition in nearly full magazines to explode. This, in turn, caused a “runaway”. The rogue gun began firing wildly, spraying high-explosive shells at a rate of 550 a minute, swinging around through 360 degrees like a high-pressure hose.

The unknown officer tried to shut the gun down, but was unable to as the computer gremlin had taken over. Her fate was unknown at the time of going to press. The injured, five of whom were female soldiers, were airlifted by SAAF choppers to hospitals in Bloemfontein. Three were in a critical condition last night.

Defence Ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said the “friendly-fire” tragedy was the worst he could remember.

“Without hesitation I can say it is very rare; I can’t even think of one . . . I can’t remember when last an accident of this magnitude happened.”

Fourteen other soldiers injured during the accident, described as the worst one of the South African army over 30 years, remained at hospitals, SANDF spokesman Kwena Mangope said.

He told the SAPA news agency that the soldier, who had been in a critical condition, died on Saturday afternoon.

A total of 24 soldiers were taking part in a 35mm MK5 Anti- Aircraft Gun training event during a live-fire exercise when the accident happened at about 9 a.m. local time (0700 GMT) on Friday.

It is believed the soldiers were killed when the computerized Swiss/German Oerlikon gun jammed moments after the exercise began.

A female officer went forward to help the gunner clear the blockage, another shell was accidentally fired, causing some of the unspent ammunition in nearly-full magazines to explode, the Johannesburg-based newspaper Saturday Star reported.

"The gun began firing wildly, spraying high-explosive shells at a rate of 550 a minute, swinging around through 360 degrees like a high-pressure hose," the newspaper described.

"The unknown officer tried to shut the gun down but she couldn' t because the computer gremlin had taken over," it said.

Eight soldiers were killed instantly and 11 injured. A ninth soldier, a woman, died moments after she was airlifted to a hospital in Bloemfontein on Friday.

The last military accident of this magnitude was the accidental ramming and sinking of the frigate SAS President Kruger in 1982, in which 16 sailors were killed, the newspaper said.

Spokesman Mangope said it was assumed that a mechanical problem had led to the accident.

"It appears .. the gun, which is computerized, jammed before there was some sort of explosion and then it opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers," he was quoted as telling the newspaper.

Mangope said an investigation into the accident was underway jointly by the South African Police Service and the Military Police Agency.

The training event is part of Exercise Seboka, an annual joint conventional military exercise participated by 5,000 soldiers from 18 army units and various units from the SA Air Force, SA Navy and

the SA Military Health service.      

Six names of the nine South African National Defence Force (SANDF) soldiers who died during a training accident at the SA Army Combat Training Centre in Lohatla, Northern Cape were released on Saturday.

Spokesman Brigadier General Kwena Mangope said John Bezuidenhout, 30, female bombardier Khangezwe Malaza, 24, Rhulani Mtileni, 23, Thapelo Mkwana, 21, Samuel Nyembe, 22, and 21-year-old Botse Seipato were some of the soldiers who died in Friday's incident .

Mangope said the names of the other soldiers were to be released once the next of kin were notified.

"Despite earlier reports that ten soldiers had died, only nine were killed in the shooting accident during an anti-aircraft gun training in Lohatla," said Mangope.

Fourteen of the injured troops remained at Pelonomi and 3 Military hospitals as well as the sickbay at the SA Army Combat Training Centre.

Their conditions are reported as "satisfactory".

"Defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota and SANDF chief General Godfrey Ngwenya extended their condolences to the families of the deceased. They also wished the injured a speedy recovery," said Mangope.

The twenty-four soldiers were taking part in a training event involving 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft guns during Exercise Seboka when the accident happened.

Mangope said the department of Defence had appointed a high level board of enquiry to investigate the accident.

A tenth South African soldier has died of his injuries a day after an anti-aircraft gun malfunctioned in a military training exercise, public television reported Saturday.

Nine soldiers died on Friday and 15 were injured during an annual military exercise at Lohatla Army Battle School in the Northern Cape province, in one of South Africa's worst military accidents in years.

SABC television reported that six soldiers were still in a critical condition in hospital, with two having lost limbs.

South African National Defence Force spokesman Brigadier-General Kwena Mangope said something mechanical appeared to have gone awry with the computerised 35mm Swiss/German-made MK5 anti-aircraft twin barreled gun.

"It was a mechanical hitch that caused the accident, we believe," he said adding that the gun had "opened fire uncontrollably, killing and injuring the soldiers."

The accident took place during a live-fire exercise as part of Exercise Seboka, an annual joint military exercise involving around 5,000 servicemen and women from the army, airforce and navy.

One of the deceased soldiers was a woman, as were five of those injured.

Mangope said the names of the people killed were being released to their families, and they would later be buried with full military honours.

While the SANDF announced a high-level investigation into the accident, defence unions on Sunday called for a "fully transparent" ministerial inquiry to establish not only the cause, but how so many soldiers could have been killed and injured.

"There are a number of questions that must be answered," the SAPA news agency quoted SA Security Forces' Union deputy president Charles Jacobs as saying.

"By nature of their job soldiers can be exposed to these incidents, but now a reality check is needed," added SA National Defence Union general secretary Pikkie Greeff.

The Defence Ministry must probe the Lohatla accident which left 9 soldiers dead and 15 critically injured, the country's two defence unions said on Saturday.

"There are a number of questions that must be answered," said SA Security Forces' Union deputy president Charles Jacobs.

He said "fully transparent" ministerial inquiry was needed to establish not only the cause, but how so many soldiers could have been killed and injured.

"By nature of their job soldiers can be exposed to these incidents, but now a reality check is needed," added SA National Defence Union general secretary Pikkie Greeff.

"We are demanding a thorough investigation that should be broadened to issues of negligence, manufacturer, age and maintenance of the weapon."

It was premature to suggest that what had happened was an accident, said Greeff.

The investigation needed to look at not only the cause of the incident, but deficiencies in the military, he said.

Nine SA National Defence Force soldiers died on Friday when an 35mm MK5 Anti-Aircraft Gun went "haywire" while being operated by a female troop during a routine exercise at the Lohatla training ground in the Northern Cape.

The incident coincided with an SANDU march to Parliament to demand among others, that Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota recognise the union, salary increments and improved working conditions.

SANDF spokesman Major Niko Allie described the conditions of the injured troops as "satisfactory".

He said they had been admitted to the Pelonomi Hospital and 3 Military Hospital, both in Bloemfontein, and the sickbay at the SA Army Combat Training Centre, in Lohatla.

Allie said the SANDF would release the names of the soldiers who died as soon as their next-of-kin had been informed.

Nine South African soldiers were killed in a shooting accident involving an anti-aircraft gun during a training exercise at a base in the central Bloemfontein region, the Army said.

"I can confirm that nine of our people have died and another 15 were injured and taken to various hospitals around Bloemfontein," South African National Defence Forces (SANDF) spokesman Brigadier General Kwena Mangope said.

"We are still waiting for details but we do know it was an exercise, a yearly exercise that 27 soldiers participated in.

"We use a variety of weapons [in the training exercise]. This particular one is a 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft gun," he added.

An investigation was launched into the accident which happened at around 9am (local time).

Private radio station 702 reported witnesses as saying the aircraft gun malfunctioned during the training exercise.

However Defence Ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi said that it was not yet clear whether the accident had been due to human error or whether something had gone wrong with the weapons being tested.

"We can't know that at this stage, that's what the investigations will confirm," he said.

He said the high-level probe would be an internal inquiry, involving members of the SANDF, the police force, government experts.

The area where the accident took place has been sealed off and officers from the military police and civilian police service are at the scene.

Welfare officers from the army's health service have already been dispatched to the base to offer counselling.

Both Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and Chief of Staff General Godfrey Ngwenya had "extended their sincerest sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased," a statement from the Defence Ministry said.

Mr Mkhwanazi said it was not known what condition the injured soldiers were in.

The accident took place during Exercise Seboka, an annual joint conventional military exercise involving around 5,000 servicemen and women from the Army, Air Force and Navy.

It usually involves static displays, individual weapons system firing demonstrations and an opportunity to fire some of the weapons, according to the ministry's website.

This is the worst military accident South Africa has experienced in years, with Defence Ministry officials unable to recall another one as bad.

"Without hesitation I can say it is very rare, I can't even think of one...I can't remember when last an accident of this magnitude happened," Mr Mkwhanazi said.

Afrique du Sud : le nombre de morts dans un exercice de tir s'élèveà dix JOHANNESBURG, 13 octobre (XINHUA) -- Le bilan d'un accident lors d'un exercice de tir de l'armée sud-africaine s'est élevé à dix après la mort d'un soldat blessé samedi dans un hôpital de Bloemfontein, a annoncé la Force de défense nationale sud- africaine (SANDF).

Quatorze autres soldats blessés lors de l'accident, considéré comme le pire dans l'histoire de l'armée sud-africaine durant plus de 30 ans, restent à l'hôpital, a fait savoir le porte-parole de la SANDF, Kwena Mangope.

Il a précisé à l'agence de presse SAPA que le soldat qui se trouvait dans un état critique est décédé samedi dans l'après-midi.

Un total de 24 soldats participaient à un exercice de tir d'arme MK5 de calibre 35mm, quand l'accident est survenu vendredi aux environs de 09H00 (07H00 GMT).

Huit soldats ont été tués sur-le-champ, et un neuvière soldat, une femme, est décédée quelques moments après qu'elle eut été transportée par avion dans un hôpital de Bloemfontein, vendredi.

PEACEKEEPING Too few to make a difference As SA ponders requests to deploy more peacekeeping forces to Africa's trouble spots, the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) finds its capacity to do so is being stretched to the limit.

This week the SANDF confirmed that government was considering a request from the UN for additional troops to be deployed in Darfur. SA already has 577 soldiers and 26 staff officers in Darfur and cabinet recently approved the deployment of 85 troops to the Central African Republic.

SANDF spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi says 21 military observers are already in the Central African Republic, where hundreds of thousands of refugees and other civilians are caught up in the spillover from the Darfur conflict in Sudan.

According to international peacekeeping analyst Cedric de Coning, SA is already one of the largest contributors to peacekeeping missions on the African continent but its capacity is stretched to maximum.

Four of the seven robbers who were arrested following a cash-in-transit heist in Makhado could be members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), Limpopo police said on Friday.

Captain Manno Sadike said there was a possibility that four of the robbers were SANDF soldiers.

It is also believed that the automatic rifle which was used in the robbery had been reported stolen at a military base.

"We cannot deny or confirm that the rifle was stolen from a military base as the matter is under investigation," said Sadike.

The robbers appeared briefly at the Louis Trichardt Magistrates Court on Thursday, where their case was postponed for bail applications.

"One man's case was postponed to October 17 and the rest until October 19," said Sadike.

Nine South African soldiers were killed on Friday in a shooting accident involving an anti-aircraft gun during a training exercise at a base in the central Bloemfontein region, the army said.

"I can confirm that nine of our people have died and another 15 were injured and taken to various hospitals around Bloemfontein," South African National Defence Forces (SANDF) spokesman Brigadier General Kwena Mangope told AFP.

"We are still waiting for details but we do know it was an exercise, a yearly exercise that 27 soldiers participated in.

"We use a variety of weapons (in the training exercise). This particular one is a 35mm MK5 anti-aircraft gun," he added.

An investigation was launched into the accident which happened at around 9:00 am (0700 GMT).

Private radio station 702 reported witnesses as saying the aircraft gun malfunctioned during the training exercise.

However defence ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi told AFP that it was not yet clear whether the accident had been due to human error or whether something had gone wrong with the weapons being tested.

"We can't know that at this stage, that's what the investigations will confirm," he said.

He said the high-level probe would be an internal inquiry, involving members of the SANDF, the police force, government experts.

The area where the accident took place has been sealed off and officers from the military police and civilian police service are at the scene.

Welfare officers from the army's health service have already been dispatched to the base to offer counselling.

Both Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and Chief of Staff General Godfrey Ngwenya had "extended their sincerest sympathies and condolences to the families of the deceased," a statement from the defence ministry said.

Mkhwanazi said it was not known what condition the injured soldiers were in.

The accident took place during Exercise Seboka, an annual joint conventional military exercise involving around 5,000 servicemen and women from the army, airforce and navy.

It usually involves static displays, individual weapons system firing demonstrations and an opportunity to fire some of the weapons, according to the ministry's website said.

This is the worst military accident South Africa has experienced in years, with defence ministry officials unable to recall another one as bad.

"Without hesitation I can say it is very rare, I can't even think of one...I can't remember when last an accident of this magnitude happened," said Mkwhanazi.

About a hundred protesters under the banner of the SA National Defence Union (Sandu) marched on Parliament on Friday to call for a 19 percent pay hike.

"Mr President, your soldiers are hungry and their families are hungry," they said in a memorandum addressed to President Thabo Mbeki in his capacity as commander in chief.

They also called for the resignation of Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota.

Acting Sandu national secretary Pikkie Greeff told Sapa that while a student police constable took home R6,000 a month, the take-home pay of a defence force rifleman with 15 years' service was as low as R2,500.

This was less even than the earnings of a car guard, he said.

Sandu chief negotiator Jeff Dubazana told the protesters Lekota had brought "misery" to the defence force.

"We want Lekota removed. He should be given the boot," he said, urging that the minister take on a full time post as spokesman for the African National Congress -- of which he is national chairman -- instead.

The memorandum also complained that women in the SANDF were subjected to sexual harassment, especially by males in more senior ranks.

"Any attempt by our female comrades to expose such abuse is met with indifference or retaliation," the memorandum said.

One woman protester told the crowd: "If you want to be promoted you must sleep with an officer."

Defence ministry spokesman Sam Mkhwanazi told Sapa that the 19 percent demand had never been raised in a bargaining council.

He also said that for the past two years, members of the defence force were given an increment above that of the general public service.

"It is disturbing that in our view they are choosing to play political games rather than properly representing their membership," he said.

"If they were honest about representing their members they would have followed proper procedure."

He also defended the defence force's record on sexual harassment, saying it took the issue extremely seriously.

If anyone felt they had been treated unfairly they could approach the minister directly.

The protest was recorded by a defence force film and camera team, who the angry protesters said had been flown down from Pretoria for that purpose.

Neuf soldats ont été tués accidentellement vendredi pendant un exercice de tir au canon anti-aérien, sur une base militaire du centre de l'Afrique du Sud.

"Je peux confirmer que neuf de nos hommes sont morts, 15 ont été blessés et transférés dans plusieurs hôpitaux des environs de Bloemfontein (chef-lieu de la province du Free State)", a déclaré à l'AFP un porte-parole de la Force de défense nationale sud-africaine (SANDF), le général Kwena Mangope.

"Nous attendons encore les détails, mais nous savons qu'il s'agissait d'un exercice, un entraînement annuel auquel participaient 27 soldats", a-t-il ajouté.

Lors de tels exercices, "nous utilisons diverses armes. Là, il s'agissait d'un canon anti-aérien MK5 de calibre 35 mm", a précisé ce porte-parole.

Une enquête a été ouverte pour déterminer les circonstances de l'accident, survenu vers 09h00 locales (07H00 GMT) sur l'immense base de Lohatla, qui s'étend sur 1.580 km2 --taille de la capitale Pretoria-- à l'ouest de Kimberley (province du Northern Cape).

Selon la radio privée 702, citant des témoins, l'accident a été causé par le mauvais fonctionnement d'un canon.

Un porte-parole du ministère de la Défense, Sam Mkhwanazi, a souligné qu'il n'était pas encore possible de préciser s'il y avait eu erreur humaine ou problème technique.

Thundering field artillery guns and mock battles accompanied by the sound of military bands is on the cards for Durban after a major cash injection from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF).

Spearheaded by a group of officers in the Reserve Force regional office, the tattoo will be held in the city up until 2010, after the officers managed to snatch the rights to hold the event away from Cape Town.

Abandoned in the mid 1990s after almost 15 years of shows in Durban, attempts to revive the traditional military show by former tourism minister Narend Singh initially fell flat.

The memory remained with some officers, who have now not only organised the main tattoo, but also two military demonstrations this week in preparation for the major spectacle.

According to one of the organisers, Lt Col Mike Sydney, although the finer details of the main tattoo had yet to be finalised, it would encompass all facets of the SANDF.

The show will also serve as a major marketing and recruitment tool for the permanent force and reserve force components, as enlistment figures continue to plummet.

“All the regiments of the province will be involved, including the Air Force and Navy.

“It’s an ideal opportunity to showcase the SANDF and the various diverse regiments, some of whom are hardly known by the people they serve,” Sydney said.

Natal Field Artillery men are, meanwhile, preparing to take on the Portsmouth Field Artillery Association lads in a traditional military “gun run” at tomorrow and Friday’s dress rehearsal at Glenwood High School. A massive mock battle complete with pyrotechnics and blank gunshots will end both evenings.

Tickets to Thursday and Friday’s dress rehearsal cost R30 for adults and R5 for school children in uniform.

DEPUTY Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad is expected back in South Africa some time this week after undergoing an a unspecified medical procedure in a Swedish hospital.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said Pahad would not be re-admitted to a local hospital on his arrival, but would spend a few days recuperating at home before returning to work.

The South African Military Health Service (SAMHS) sent twodoctors to Sweden last week at the request of the Foreign Affairs Department after Pahad fell ill last Tuesday while accompanying Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka on an official visit to Stockholm.

SAMHS spokesperson Colonel Louis Kirstein explained yesterday that this was not an unusual step as it was “one of the functions of the SAMHS to provide medical care to dignitaries on request”.

Asked about the doctors’ names and fields of specialisation, Kirstein said it was the policy of the SANDF “not to divulge personal information of its members” – including their names – to members of the public.

He referred further inquiries to the Foreign Affairs Department.

Pahad was discharged from a Swedish hospital on Monday evening, but Mamoepa declined to discuss the nature of his illness or the treatment he received in Sweden.

According to Mamoepa, Foreign Affairs Director-General Ayanda Ntsaluba was “in communication with the Swedish doctors with a view to arranging travel for Pahad and the South African doctors”.

 l’hymne xhosa, Nkosi Sikelei Afrika, est venu en 1994 s’ajouter à l’hymne afrikaner Die Stem van Suid-Afrika dont la version anglaise est The call of South africa. Le premier, écrit à la fin du XIXe, siècle était l’hymne de l’ANC depuis 1925. Le second date de 1918, mais il n’a été officiellement adopté qu’en 1957.

L’hymne national est composé de quatre strophes. Les deux premières reprennent les paroles de Nkosi Sikeli Afrika, le chant de l’ANC et les suivantes sont extraites de Die Stem (l’ancien hymne national) interprétées en afrikaans et en anglais.

A major fire incident occurred at the Island View Storage (IVS) on the night of September 18, 2007. Tragically, one person, Meshail Reddy, was reported missing and it has since been confirmed he was killed in the blaze. On behalf of council, I extend my sympathies to Reddy’s family.

May I begin by saying that throughout the night I was kept informed of the fire and there was no need to escalate the matter to a disaster level.

Our emergency and health teams performed incredibly well and must be congratulated for the outstanding work they did and continue to do.

It is important to explain how the incident was managed and what some of our initial observations are about how the matter was handled.

Operations of Emergency Services

The first call was received by the Emergency Communication Centre about 6.59.33pm. Response teams were dispatched immediately as is the unit’s protocol. The first responder was on site within 10 minutes. This initial dispatch turned out two rescue pumps, one foam carrier, one chemical unit and one control vehicle. A total of 24 vehicles/appliances; 13 officers; and 39 crew members were used during this incident.

By 7.18pm three storage tanks were alight and the pressure valves were venting. Back-up was called and a forward command post was set up, including the Emergency Communications Centre.

The incident commander identified the potential for further escalation and asked the SAPS and Metro Police to evacuate the immediate area adjacent to fire. An exclusion perimeter was erected and a vehicle staging area was designated in Iran Road. The wind speed and direction was noted as twenty (20) knots north easterly and the site information on chemicals highlighted the need to evacuate the residential area the smoke plume was moving towards.

The request to evacuate the residential area was made to the SANDF at 8.40pm at the forward control point.

The fire was fought from the north-west facing side involving two crews protecting tank 606 and cooling the burning tanks 604, 605, 616, and on the south-west side involving two crews protecting tanks 612, 611.

A joint operating centre was set up at Portnet offices including the Metro Fire, SAPS, Metro Police, EMRS, IVS, Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), Harbour Master, Cutler MB, Portnet Fire and Disaster Management agencies. All chemical material safety data sheets and other technical information, sourced from the IVS representatives, informed strategic decisions made throughout the operations .

In terms of our fire services, the strategy adopted to deal with the incident involved extinguishing the *bund fire, protecting the unaffected tanks, extinguishing the base and manifold fires and cooling the shell of fully engulfed tanks allowing the product to burn off. The fire was finally confined to tanks 603, 604, 605, 615, 616.

Metro Water services were contacted at 9.37pm to boost the town’s main supply to maintain tank cooling.

The location and status of drain valves was not easily identified or accessible by personnel and the discharge of cooling water, foam, leaks, dumped fuel and uncontrolled fixed installations contributed to the filling up of the bund.

At 10.05pm the setting up of floating booms was called for by the forward control point as a precautionary measure after DWAF reported no contamination at this stage.

The inability of the site to drain exposed tanks necessitated the continued use of water to cool already venting tanks, which further contributed to the bund levels rising.

At 1.13am it became necessary to open disaster drains to reduce the bund levels. This was executed to ensure the safety of crews and prevent a total bund ignition. This was based on information that many of the spilled chemicals were water-soluble. The disaster drains did not provide for reasonably quick drainage of the high-flow rate of cooling water and foam, resulting in overflow into other tank bunds within the zone.

Additional Assistance

The Engen refinery offered assistance and made available one fire pump with three crew. The vehicle was used in the north-west sector.

Health Department

The Health Department was active throughout the incident, offering tactical support, as well as monitoring the levels of pollutants and forwarding this information to the joint operations centre. They conducted tests to determine the concentration of chemicals and health impacts on the community. Off-site they tested air quality and assisted in evacuating residents, using loudhailers.

The environmental effects are still being assessed, including water pollution in the harbour.

The health and safety of residents and workers is of primary importance and we are thankful that, except for the tragic case of Meshail Reddy, we have had no casualties. This is largely because our plan and the execution of it worked very well.

The professional way in which our emergency and health teams and their partners worked is testimony that our plan is in place and it works well.

We have learnt a lot already from this incident. For example, full details of what was contained on site were not immediately available. We are discussing this with Transnet. Dealing with the press was not properly structured. I had to field many calls late into the night when there should have been an easier process. These are some of the matters we will be taking up to ensure we operate more effectively.

Rumours

Unfortunately, in spite of communicating through radio with the public, many residents milled around spreading rumours.

We will be working on how we communicate with residents, to avoid panic and manage evacuation under instruction from the emergency teams. The safety and health of its community is the city’s priority and our plans have been developed with this in mind.

There are three levels of incident. The first are difficult emergencies (requiring operational plans to be implemented), the second are major emergencies (requiring tactical plans to be implemented) and the third are disasters (requiring strategic plans to be put into action).

Our response to this incident showed we have plans in place to deal with such incidents.

Specific plans are in place, which operate at different levels, to guide the actions of agencies responding to the incidents. These plans are based on principles derived through experience and research.

They are processes we follow depending on the circumstances. On one occasion a road may be used to evacuate people, on another it would be avoided.

In terms of communication, we continue to stress: Don’t keep calling the emergency line. Don’t listen to any unauthorised information. We work with facts.

The difficulty is that we must inform without unnecessarily alarming people when we issue warnings.

There is a fundamental distinction between an emergency and a disaster.

During an emergency it is important people stay at home and listen to their radios. If the incident escalates, we would use East Coast, Gagasi/ uKhozi to inform people.

Several families living near the national defence force munitions dump in Inhamizua, near the port city of Beira in central Mozambique which went up in smoke on Friday, have been evacuated to places considered safe.

Radio Mozambique reported on Saturday that the evacuation process was carried out by the national defence force, the police and officials from the Inhamizua administrative post.

The station said local authorities were on Saturday morning distributing humanitarian aid to the displaced families.

However, it was not immediately know how many families had been displaced by the latest blasts on the military installation, which lasted for more than three hours on Friday afternoon.

Inhamizua munitions dump accommodates the second largest military warehouse after the Malhazine munitions dump which also went up in smoke in March this year killing more than 100 people and injuring another 500.

Earlier, Radio Mozambique reported that the explosions at Inhamizua began at 4pm and continued until 7pm.

The station quoted military authorities in the city of Beira, which is also Mozambique's second largest city, as saying the explosions were caused by high temperatures which had been experienced in the country in recent weeks.

Details on the casualties were still sketchy on Saturday as authorities said they were still gathering information.

The explosions come at a time when the government has said it would transfer munitions dumps away from residential areas by December 2007.

A government appointed commission of enquiry set up to investigate the explosions in March said the cause of the blasts were human error.

However, at the time of the explosions, military authorities also blamed the blasts on high temperatures of more than 40 degrees.

After the fatal March blasts at Malhazine, the South African government deployed military experts form the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to help with the destruction of unexploded missiles, rockets, landmines and long range grenades which did not explode.

Mozambique admitted at the time of the March explosion that it had large stocks of "obsolete" arms of war which were stored in warehouses at the end of the 16-year civil war in 1992.

Histoire

- Les Hollandais, issus de l'Eglise calviniste réformée, sont les premiers à s'établir en Afrique du Sud, en 1657. Neuf fermes sont créées à l'est du Cap.

- Des Allemands et des huguenots français fuyant les persécutions religieuses les rejoignent.

- Les « trekboers » (« fermiers vagabonds ») entament leur conquête de l'arrière-pays. Les affrontements avec les zoulous se multiplient.

- Les Britanniques débarquent à leur tour au Cap à la fin du XVIIIe siècle.

- La découverte des premières mines de diamants et d'or intensifie la rivalités entre les deux communautés blanches.

- Deux guerres opposent les Boers et les Britanniques en 1880 et en 1900. Ces derniers remportent la seconde et fondent l'Union sud-africaine.

- En 1948, le National Party des Boers gagne les élections et institue l'apartheid, un système de séparation des races ultrarépressif à l'égard des Noirs.

- L'ANC (African National Congress) entre en résistance.

- A partir de 1990, les lois de l'apartheid sont abrogées. Les premières élections libres ont lieu en 1994 et l'ANC arrive au pouvoir.

Population

- 47 millions d'habitants (11 langues officielles).

- Les Noirs (79 % de la population) composent une multitude d'ethnies (Zoulou, Xhosa, Swazi, Sotho, Venda...) .

- Les métis (8,9 % de la population) sont les descendants des premiers colons blancs et des esclaves africains, malgaches et malais.

- Les Blancs sont 4,4 millions (9,6 % de la population), parmi lesquels 3 millions d'afrikaners. Ces derniers s'expriment en afrikaans, un dérivé du néerlandais. Les anglophones composent le reste de la population aux côtés de 600 000 lusitophones.

- Les Indiens ne représentent que 2,5 % de la population.

The few who make it are the toughest of the tough. Sweating blood and shedding tears to achieve the ultimate goal of becoming the toughest soldier in Africa is what it is all about.

Of the hundreds who apply to join the South African National Defence Force’s Special Forces every year less than 10% will succeed.

The South African Special Forces School is one of four components of the special forces and is used to train members for both 4 and 5 Special Forces Regiments – the operational units of the military’s elite fighting component.

4 Special Forces Regiment is situated at Langebaan and is responsible for seaborne missions while 5 Special Forces Regiment is situated in Phalaborwa and is responsible for all airborne and landward operations.

The courses that the operator candidates undergo have been described by some of the world’s leading special forces trainers as “mad”.

But, says Colonel Chris Serfontein, commander of the South African Special Forces School, “this is Africa and we operate under African conditions”.

While the number of qualified special forces operators has not been divulged it is known that no matter what their numbers are, they are the best of the best and are trained to handle all situations.

Regimental Sergeant Major Justice Godlo said those selected into the elite units are “a step above the rest”.

But with the honour of qualifying as a special forces operator comes grave danger.

The is a very real possibility that those selected could die while undergoing training or carrying out “operational tasks”.

Speaking from his office at the School in Murryhill north of Pretoria, Serfontein a qualified operator himself, said since the inception of the “recces”, as the special forces used to be known, the training standards for operator candidates have been raised continuously.

Initial training, which includes 11-weeks of individual training, sees recruits undergoing some of the most intense training that the military can impose.

This, claims the special forces, is to prepare would-be operators for the week-long blood and sweat selection process where candidates walk a 150km navigational route, carry weights, conduct escape and evade missions and individual and group exercises.

Those who succeed and have what it takes are identified and separated from those who do not.

For the next 43 gruelling weeks, the candidates will undergo weapons, demolition, parachuting, air, boat, survival, rural and urban tactics training.

Once complete, explains Serfontein, operators are sent to either 4 or 5 Special Forces Regiments where they undergo a six to eight month “bridging” course.

“Over the next six to eight years an operator will complete advanced training courses depending on his interests or specialities.

“These include among others reconnaissance, photography, advanced urban combat, climbing techniques, combat demolitions, high risk protection, advanced freefall and sniping among others,” he said.

According to Serfontein the SANDF special forces’ forte is reconnaissance.

“Our training and our skills allow us to be able to conduct reconnaissance operations for months on end anywhere in Africa.

Serfontein said that because the SANDF Special Forces is a relatively small organisation, all operators have to be able to perform a multitude of operational tasks.

Serfontein said they are constantly benchmarking their performance against some of the world’s best special forces and are continuously exchanging information “to ensure that our standards are of the highest quality”.

Describing the difference between South African Special Forces and other international special forces units, Serfontein said the national version focused on tactics as opposed to other countries that emphasised technology and mass deployments when conducting a special military operation.

q The South African Special Forces School is one of four components of the special forces and is used to train members for both 4 and 5 Special Forces Regiments.