Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

Hundreds of South African soldiers have been accused of killing, torturing and assaulting the very people they are supposed to protect - and taxpayers might have to fork out almost a billion rands in civil claims.

South African National Defence Force [SANDF] members are the accused in 287 serious criminal cases, recorded incidents of murder, shooting, assault and torture.

An investigation by The Star has also revealed that the most recent list of recorded criminal cases against army members includes 26 charges of murder, 22 of attempted murder, 15 of assault with grievous bodily harm, 25 of common assault, and 31 of reckless and negligent driving. And the army's own legal services division has admitted in correspondence leaked to The Star that its failure to finalize civil claims made against South African peacekeepers in Burundi has become an embarrassment.

While 37 of the criminal cases against SANDF members are recorded as withdrawn or ending in acquittal, army documents suggest that the SANDF has lost track of what happened to a staggering 125 cases recorded by the army's legal services department. At best, the last recorded court date for these cases is noted four years ago. Some 13 cases - including three of murder and one of culpable homicide - are listed as "dormant", while in 58 of the cases, the exact nature of the charges is not listed.

One of the claims, made by Burundian state witness Dobeye Jean Damacene, is for an air ticket that Damacene paid for in order to testify in the trial of Sgt Flippie Venter, who is accused of the rape and murder of a teenage Burundian sex worker. According to the Defence Department's 2006 financial statements, the army is facing civil claims of 978m rands [about 134m dollars], with motor accident claims amounting to an additional 3.7m rands [506,000 dollars].

Disturbingly, the vast majority of the 149 civil claims against the army involve alleged unlawful arrest and violence against members of the public -some of which claimed the lives of their victims. In addition to four civil claims against the army for murder, two of which the army indicated it would settle, the Defence Department is currently facing 14 claims related to "shooting incidents", including two in which civilians were paralysed. Another seven cases relate to the deaths of civilians, allegedly at the hands of army members, while a further 59 claims are related to assault committed by soldiers.

The SANDF was today due to host the second day of its moral regeneration conference in Cape Town. The conference comes days after the Defence Department incurred the ire of opposition parties by advertising for applicants with "no record of serious criminal offence". SANDF spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi later stated that the wording of the advertisement had been made in error.

In November last year, Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota told parliament that, between April 2005 and September 3, 891 crimes - allegedly committed by SANDF members - were reported to the army's military police agency. These offences, which add to the agency's 3,377 unfinalized cases carried over from 2004/2005, are believed to include 400 cases of sexual offences and the theft of military equipment. Although the army's legal department usually provides legal assistance to SANDF members who have been criminally charged in civilian courts, it has refused requests for legal assistance in 12 cases -the majority of which involved incidents of alleged torture and assault.

In one of these cases, a sergeant stands accused of killing a member of the public during an interrogation. An SANDF inquest found the sergeant responsible for the civilian's death, and he was charged with murder, but it is not clear what happened to the case against him.

Mkhwanazi said the Defence Department was investigating what had happened to the cases unearthed by The Star.

"Particularly in light of the moral regeneration conference, we take these issues very seriously. Where a member is found to be guilty, we will deal with them."