Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

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 But this was retracted and Morrell had to repay the money at R10 a month.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.