Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

South Africa’s largest defence force union has threatened an armed siege of the military’s headquarters if its demands are not adhered to.

Delivering their week-long protest outside the Department of Defence’s headquarters in Pretoria, the South African National Defence Union yesterday (Sandu) said this was its final warning.

The protesters were soldiers from various infantry battalions and units around the country.

The warning comes a week after the general officer commanding of the army’s infantry formation, Major-General Themba Nkabinde, blasted soldiers in the infantry for ill-discipline and called for an urgent and immediate turn-around before an unstoppable state of chaos descended on the defence force.

Carrying posters calling for the head of Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota and Defence Secretary January Masilela, protesters, the majority of whom were from 4 South African Infantry Battalion, based in Middleburg in Mpumalanga, and the War College in Pretoria descended on the defence force headquarters.

Nearly 200 demonstrators marched up and down a picket line outside the headquarters.

The soldiers demanded wage increases as well as the immediate dismissal of Lekota and Masilela.

Sandu chairman Tshepo Motlhajwa, based at the Army War College, said: “The next time we come here we will be in our uniforms and with our guns. We will lay siege to these headquarters until our demands are met.”

Jeff Dubazana, Sandu’s chief negotiator, said the protest was a continuation of their protests from June.

Dubazana said while they had reached an earlier wage agreement, those agreements were only verbal and had now been reneged on.

Defence spokesperson Sam Mkhwanazi said in terms of Regulation 8 of Chapter 20, members of the SANDF have a right to peaceful and unarmed assembly, demonstration, picket and petition and to present petitions in their private capacity – but that such rights shall not be exercised by members while armed or in uniform.